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Android slices will speed up your searches, early access begins this month
- Android slices will start to appear in mobile Google Search results this year.
- This month, an early access program will open for slices.
- Google introduced Android slices at Google I/O earlier this year.
Back in May, at Google I/O 2018, Google announced a new Android feature called slices. Android slices are a new time-saving feature which will allow users to get easy access to data and controls from within Google Search on their mobile device.
At the Android Developers Summit today, Google announced there will be a public early access program opened this month, with partners such as Doist, Kayak, and more already integrated. Unfortunately, Google did not give any specific date for the EAP nor any instructions on how to take part.
What are Android slices? You can watch the YouTube video embedded below to learn all about the new feature, but the basic gist is that slices are like widgets which automatically appear when you perform searches with Google.
Look at the image at the top of this article: in each one, you can see a search query with the expected results underneath. However, you can also see things like app data, settings toggles, and even photo carousels in there, too. Those are Android slices, and app developers will be able to integrate them into your searches.
A great example use case for slices would be you searching for a YouTube video you previously watched. Your search query would bring up the usual results, but you’d also see a YouTube player there with a play button. If you tap the button, you can watch the video, right there in your search results. You could also cast the video to your Chromecast, all without leaving your search results.
Android slices could end up being pretty powerful and indispensable, but we won’t know exactly how well they work until the EAP opens up.