Now is flinging open the doors to developers, teasing plans for giving any app permission to play nicely with Android’s digital assistant.
Aparna Chennapragada, the director of product management for Now, detailed some of the plans for making this happen during a talk at SXSMonday. It’s not the first time third-party apps have been granted access to Now, as there’s already a pilot program for 40 larger services like Airbnb, ra, Duolingo.
For example, if you perform a search on Airbnb for a place to stay in New York, a Now card may pop up with more recommendations. th the new developer tools other apps will be able to build in similar functionality, using your preferences usage patterns to try be helpful.
Chennapragada also said is working on more suggestions based on your location, like notifying you of wait times for theme park rides, inspired by a recent trip to Disneyl.
For now, Now is restricted to information from your account the apps on the “in” list. Now details the weather, traffic alerts, recommends TV shows, updates you on your favorite sports teams. It’s also a rather good travel assistant.
The impact on you: Now is one of the best features of Android, putting a lot of key information right on your home screen if you use the Now uncher. It speeds up tasks like checking the weather traffic because you don’t need to leap into a series of different apps. However, machine learning always has its quirks, as evidenced by this Now misadventure with Sir Mix-A-t.