Yesterday saw a wealth of android information coming through from Google. In fact, there was so much coming through that hours later and what happened is still being digested and understood. While the latest android update, Android M and the new image service from Google, Google Photos, seemed to steal the show, there was another announcement that came through which should be of immense interest to Google users. Especially, those who use Google Now on a frequent basis. This was the news of Google Now’s evolutionary step towards ‘Now On Tap‘.
In short, the Google Now announcement looked to make clear that Google Now was growing in its intelligence, was becoming smarter. And by smarter, it was not becoming more knowledgeable, but instead, more better at understanding what information you want at any given point. More contextually aware so to speak. This can be best understood with an example. So for instance, if you are inside an app, Google Play Music for instance and are listening to a specific song, you can effectively ask Google Now (On Tap) anything about the song without actually referencing the song i.e. what is his (or her) real name. On Tap will understand the song you’re listening to and understand this is what you are referring to when asking the question. So yes, more contextually aware.
As such, the inclusion of this newer version of Now will be a very welcomed addition to Android M and probably one feature which many users of the Developer Preview of M would like to test out. Especially, to see what its contextual limitations are. Well, if you are one of those who was planning on giving this feature a try, then it looks like that is unlikely to be the case. Apparently, the latest information is that Now On Tap will not be available as part of the developer preview and instead will only be released when Android M becomes widely available as a final version. This will be disappointing for a number of Preview users although on the positive side, will offer those on the preview something to look forward to later on in the year.