Google Now on Tap has been deactivated after it made a public appearance in Android M Developer Preview 3 last week. Reports say it might have been a glitch or a test trial before the final version of Google Now on Tap arrives with the launch of Android M and new Nexus devices.
Android Headlines reported that Now on Tap feature has been deactivated again by the Android team. After a premature appearance on Android M Preview 3, Now on Tap displays an error message saying "Now on Tap is coming soon! Stay tuned..." appears when attempting to activate it.
According to Android Police, Google had no intentions of making Now on Tap go public. There are assumptions that it might have been activated unknowingly in the APK.
Another possibility is that the Google developers were trying to test Now on Tap first and make some tweaks before the final version comes out. It was reported that last week's preview of Now on Tap did not fully show all features that Google boasted at the I/O conference.
The deactivation of Now on Tap follows previous reports last week that said Now on Tap was available for Android M Preview 3 users. The preview brought users the new look and feel of Google Now launcher. It came along with the Google App v5.3 update.
Google Now on Tap is one of the most awaited features in Android M. It functions like a real-life virtual personal assistant. Now on Tap gives predictions and information based on data it gathers from user's behaviors and preferences. T3 reported that Now on Tap points towards the future of smartphones.
Now on Tap is not a lone player in the digital assistants market. It is joined with Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, and Amazon's Alexa. Google Now and Cortana extend support for iOS, Android, and desktop while Siri is limited to iOS devices only.
As the final form of Android M will be ready soon, it is expected that Google Now on Tap will be fully-functional by then. Android M with Google Now on Tap will be launched on September 29's Google event along with the unveiling of two new Nexus devices by LG and Huawei.
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