Back in late May, Google introduced us to Android 6.0 Marshmallow — then Android M — and a new feature called Google Now on Tap. Now on Tap is a contextually aware version of Google Now that can answer questions about what you’re looking at. And if you’re running the third Android M Developer Preview, you can now try Now on Tap for yourself.
An update to the Google app for Android is now rolling out that enables Google Now on Tap if you’re running Android M Developer Preview 3. After installing both the new dev preview and the new Google app, you can long-press on your device’s home button to access Now on Tap and get information about whatever you’re looking at.
As of this writing, it looks like Now on Tap is still having some issues and throwing up some error messages. The software is still in beta, though, so some bugginess isn’t surprising.
Google Now on Tap is a seriously awesome feature of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, giving you more details on whatever you’re interested in with minimal effort on your part. For example, if you’re listening to a Skrillex song and ask “What’s his real name?” Google Now on Tap will understand who you’re talking about and give you an answer. You can also do things like get links to social media pages and websites for companies that you might be looking at. You’ll need Android M Developer Preview 3 to try Now on Tap now, but everyone will get it when Marhsmallow launches this fall.
Also enabled with this new Google app update is the Marshmallow-style vertical app drawer. To see it, you’ll need Google Now Launcher running.
To grab this updated Google app, you can check for the update on your device or download it manually from APK Mirror.
