Android update: This major Google feature could be coming very soon | Phones

Android is a mobile and tablet operating system developed by Google.

And the software is hugely-popular, running on almost every phone in the world that is not manufactured by Apple Inc.

In addition to substantial numbered updates, Google also regularly improves the Android experience for users by introducing new features in addition to stability fixes.

The Mountain View released the newest version of Android, 9 Pie back in August that added a number of substantial features.

One of software’s headline acts was Adaptive Battery, a new mechanism that harnessed the power of machine learning to improve battery life overall for users.

However, one notable feature that did not arrive with the launch of Android 9 Pie was Slices.

The duly-named function has been created to make searching easier for users by displaying relevant information while they are still typing.

This means if you are typing the word “Uber” into a Google search, options will immediately be displayed allowing a taxi home, or to work, to be ordered straight away.

Discussing the feature back in August, Google said: “Later this fall, we’ll also roll out Slices (pie…slices…get it?!) which shows relevant information from your favourite apps when you need it.

“If you start typing ‘Lyft’ into Google Search, you’ll see a ‘slice’ of the Lyft app, showing prices for your ride home and the ETA for a driver so you can take action more quickly and easily.”

At the time a precise rollout date for Slices had not been given.

However, now it appears the tool is closer than ever to making its official debut.

That is because during its recent Android Dev Summit, Google announced Slices was entering a public early access programme (EAP) ahead of its full release.

The American tech firm explained such a move has been made to ensure the feature is of a high enough quality when it eventually comes to all Android fans.

Google said: “We’re also excited to see Android Slices move to public Search experiments!

“At I/O this year we introduced Slices, a new way to bring users to your app. Slices are like a mini snippet of your app, where you can surface content and actions.

“You can book a flight, play a video, or call a ride. Slices is another example where we want to be open very early, but we want to take the time to get it right.

“We’re moving into public EAP this month with Doist, Kayak and others. We’ll run experiments surfacing Slices in Google search results.”

Although the Slices feature appears to be closer than ever to arriving, no precise launch date for the functionality has been provided by Google.