Android M will bring Google Now on Tap

At its I/O 2015 keynote today, Google has just announced Now on Tap, an update to Google Search integration on Android M which brings contextual information to your fingertips when you need it. The core feature of Now On Tap is delivering information when you need it so you no longer have to exit what you’re doing – such as listening to music or texting your friends – to find a quick piece of information.

As part of the company’s upcoming Android M release, you will be able to ask Google for assistance with whatever you are doing, regardless of where you are on your phone and what you are doing. One example of this on-stage was a conversation where you learn you need to drop off the dry cleaning; with “Now on Tap” you can tap and hold the home button and it will deliver a list of dry cleaners and then set a smart reminder card so you don’t forget.

Another example is receiving an email from a friend to see the new movie Tomorrowland; simply invoke Google Now without leaving the app you’re using and you’ll be able to quickly see the ratings, watch a trailer or even buy tickets for the movie and then head straight back to the app you were using.

Android M will also allow you to let you launch Google Now using the “Ok Google” voice command from any screen and any app on your phone. Google Now will then bring contextual awareness so if you’re listening to a band on Spotify, you can just say “Ok Google, who’s the lead singer” and it’ll recognise the context of your search.

Google Now on Tap will launch with Android M later this year and will work with any app whose developer has had their app indexed by Google.