Bing Search adds ‘Bing snapshots’ with Google Now On Tap-style feature

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Published 20 Aug 2015

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Bing Search snapshot app

When Google unveiled Android M earlier this year, they also took the curtain off Google Now On Tap, which essentially gives users access to a treasure trove of extra information about anything they might be looking at, thanks to Google Now.

While that feature is coming to Android-based devices in the near future with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, it looks like Microsoft wanted to beat Google to the chase, and has announced a big update to Bing Search that brings “snapshots” to the search app. With this new feature, Android users will be able to long-press the Home button on their device and Bing Search will detect what’s on the screen. A card will slide up from the bottom of the display and show more information on that topic.

Bing snapshots will pull information from a variety of sources, including Wikipedia, Airbnb and Yelp.

https://youtu.be/384xrKf6s98

The feature requires the device be running Android 4.4 or later, so keep that in mind. It’s available right now, though, with a link to Bing Search available below for those that don’t already have it on their phone and want to give it a shot. For those that are excited about contextually-aware information and don’t want to wait for Google Now On Tap, this might be a nice alternative for now.

Download:

  • Bing Search — Free
[via Bing Blog]