Android Marshmallow users can now tap and hold the home button for package and flight info

By Robert Nazarian December 15, 2015

mophie galaxy s7 edge juice pack news looking at phone shutterstock 281153945 — Shutterstock / Antonio Guillem

Google has updated Now on Tap with a bunch of new stuff today in an effort to make things a little easier for the holiday season and the rest of the year.

There’s a very good chance that family might be flying in for a visit this year, and Now on Tap will be a big help, especially if you’re picking someone up at the airport. If your uncle sends you a text message with his flight number, you will now be able to get the flight status with a simple tap and by hold on your phone’s home button. There’s no need to do a separate search.

Now if you’re like me, you probably ordered a bunch of gifts online this year. Tracking them isn’t always easy, and it’s important to know when that BB-8 will get delivered. Now a quick tap and hold on your confirmation email will show the tracking info and status of your package.

Google also added six new languages as part of the update: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Korean.

If you’re not familiar with Now on Tap, it’s an extension of Google Now for users on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Tapping and holding the home button will reveal more information about what’s on your display. If you’re listening to a song on Spotify, you can tap and hold to get more information about the artist. If you see a post on Facebook about a movie, you can get showtimes and information about the actors in it. It works with virtually any app that’s installed on your device.

Google recently updated Now on Tap to make it easier to take screenshots on your phone. Forget pressing the power and volume button down simultaneously, that’s so cumbersome. The new share button will not only capture a screenshot, it will open the sharing menu right away.

Unfortunately Now on Tap is still very limited since Android Marshmallow is required, and it’s only on a handful of devices. That will hopefully change as more devices get upgraded.

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Robert Nazarian

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Robert Nazarian became a technology enthusiast when his parents bought him a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color. Now his biggest…

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