Microsoft has beaten Google to the punch by offering a contextual search feature for Bing in Android, ahead of the search giant’s launch of the similar Google Now on Tap with Android 6.0 Marshmallow later this year.
Google Now on Tap is a feature that analyzes your current screen and display’s relevant information without the need for app switching.
This “Now on Tap” feature will be released with with Android 6.0 Marshmallow update later this year.
Microsoft’s take on Google Now on Tap
As mentioned above Now on Tap will read your present screen, including images and will display information in an overlay.
The main philosophy is that users should not have to change apps to get relevant info on data they have just come across.
Bing search engine contains over 21 billion facts and 5 billion relationships between people. This extensive knowledge helps to provide you with appropriate info relating the display scanned.
Let’s put a little light on how it will work for you:
Suppose you are having a chat with your best friend planning to go see a movie released last week. Now you are not sure whether the movies good or not, also you are confused if the movie is running at a nearby theater.
So instead of exiting the conversation and opening appropriate apps to answer your questions, you can use Bing. Bing will immediately scan the info and provide you with details about the movie and run time of the theater mentioned.
It can also give links to connected apps and services.
The new Bing feature works with any app and just requires a long-press on the home button. Again, developers don’t need to integrate any code into their apps as the app will work on all applications.
The new feature will at first be available on Android but will soon migrate to its native OS i.e Windows 10 desktop and mobile devices. Microsoft is also keen on exploring ways to make the feature available on iOS.
