Bing has updated its Android app and introduced a feature which Google showed off at the Google I/O 2015, for release with Android M. Named ‘Now on Tap’, Google said that it will analyze what’s there on your device’s screen, and show relevant information without needing to switch apps. All you need is to long-press the Home button. Bing has named the feature, having the same functionality, as ‘Snapshots’.
If you are still confused what the feature is all about and how useful it is to you, then let’s see it with an example. Suppose, you are chatting with one of your friends on Facebook and he asks you to meet him at a place, and you do not know its location. In that case, typically, you would need to exit Facebook, open Google, Google Maps or any of your preferred location apps to look for it. But, with Bing Snapshots, you simply need to long-press the Home button and Bing will show you relevant information like the location on map, weather, and show a list of relevant apps installed on your device.
Bing Snapshots Promo Video
Bing's app description on Play Store says that Snapshots is available only in USA and in English language, but we tried on our devices, and it worked fine. However, the information shown by Bing is limited as compared to that shown in its promo video, which is probably because it is specified for the US right now. For instance, we did not receive app suggestions on our searches.
(L-R) Bing 'Screenshots on Tap' feature in the promo video, and as seen by us
Looks like Microsoft got one over Google with Snapshots beating Now-on-Tap to release. You can install the Bing app and try it out – both of them are quite similar. However, once Google releases Android M, then it will be interesting to see which one works better.
Interestingly, Microsoft is also working on Cortana for Android to take on Google Now. It is presently in Beta phase as of now, and once it is released publically, this will be an interesting shootout too.