Android 6.0 is rolling out to Nexus devices today, it may take a while longer to get to other phones, but when it does, Google is quite keen to push the new Now On Tap assistant which Google is hoping will take the hassle out of doing little tasks you have to do every day.
We’ve all been in the situation where you get a suggestion to go for dinner or see a movie at a certain place/time, you then have to search for the venue, find their number so you can call them to make a reservation, and then add the event to your calendar. Now on Tap can even tell when multiple actions are required: Restaurant reservation and then go see a movie, and can offer two cards with relevant information and links to arrange your night out.
To activate Now on Tap, you hold the home button and you’ll be offered a variety of options depending on the situation. Listening to music? Hit Now on Tap up to get a link to the bands Wikipedia entry, or the video clip on YouTube or even a link to IMDB if it’s been used on a soundtrack.
Now On Tap is designed to do all these functions and more for you simply by knowing what’s going on at any one time on your Android device. Best of all, it seems Google has worked out that pesky Back button situation and they’re confident that once you’re finished with the cards, reservations, wiki entries and more, you can hit back and go right back to whatever you were doing before loading Now on Tap.
If you’re going to be waiting a while to get Marshmallow on your Android device, Google has put a neat little demo of Now on Tap on their Marshmallow mini-site that shows you what it’s all about.
