Microsoft's Torque Search updated to v2.0, now works on Android phones

A few months ago, Microsoft Garage released an Android Wear app called Torque, created to be a Google Now competitor. After installing it on a Wear device, you simply flick your wrist, and you can search using Cortana. It was a neat idea, though we imagine few users actually jumped ship from Google to go to Microsoft’s platform. Up until today, Torque only worked on Android Wear devices. With its new 2.0 update, the app now works on Android phones.

Once the app is installed, it brings you to a Wear-only tutorial screen. After you’re finished learning how to use the app, you need to check a box towards the top that reads “Shake anytime.” This lets you shake your phone at anytime, even when the app isn’t running, and voice search with Bing.

As for the user interface, it could use some work. Microsoft basically took the exact screen you’ll see on your Wear device, and pasted it in the center of your phone’s screen. You can still move it around and click on links, but it just looks unnatural floating around on your device.

The app was experiencing some difficulties before its 2.0 release, only being downloaded less than 10,000 times in the few months it’s been out. That said, it makes sense why Microsoft gave it support for Android devices, simply because there are less Wear devices out there. So, what do you think? Are you going to give Torque a try?