There is one great upside to being an Android user: If a feature comes out that isn’t available on your phone, somebody will likely write an app to rectify that. OpenMic+ is a good example of this. It’s essentially a voice comm shortcut for Now, but it mirrors the Touchless Control feature Motorola recently introduced in the Moto X. It works—for the most part— though it has a few kinks to work out, it’s the best way to get these features without ditching your current Android phone.

Imitated almost duplicated

I’ve been using the Moto X for a few weeks, I’ve certainly been reaping the benefits of the phone’s “always-on” listening features. I was curious to see if another app could emulate its effectiveness, considering the fact that Motorola advertises that the feature only works properly because of its X8 processing architecture.

Open Mic+ functions similarly to Motorola’s Touchless Control, except that you have to manually start it up for it to work.

The Settings screen is rather limited, with only five main options for customizing the voice control actions. You can select whether or not to start the application on boot or hide the icon in the notification tray, though the app warns that OpenMic is “much more likely to be killed” if hidden, meaning that Android could kill the application process just when you need it the most. You can also choose whether or not you want the phone to listen for your comm while the screen is off, but that in turn burns through a significant portion of battery life.

There’s also a feature will bring up the Now prompt if you wave your h directly in front of the front-facing camera, though I was unable to get it to work most of the time.

OpenMic+ looks, often functions, like a beta application. It works well, but there were some instances where it just stopped responding needed a restart. It’s a bit speedier than the Moto X at replying to your comms, but there’s no clear indicator that it’s processing anything. The app certainly has more worth to it than some of the digital assistant apps that come packaged up with OEM versions of Android, like S Voice on the Samsung Galaxy phones. It’s actively listening so that it can bring up Now, the service that has intended for you to use.

It’s worth a download

Touchless controls are a clear indicator of the direction that is steering Android toward: a totally hs-free, verbally interactive experience that makes the phone—or whatever mobile gadget of your choosing—a natural extension of your daily life. This one minor feature makes a world of a difference in the way you interact with the phone.

OpenMic+ is not the absolute answer for bringing touchless control to all other Android phones, but it’s certainly a good start. There is no evidence that will make it a stard part of the Android lineup, or if it’s merely a special feature reserved for a particular set of devices, but if you’ve got an old Android hset you want to bring some of the “always-on” features to it, this is a simple solution. st keep in mind that it might eat up your battery life.