Google Unveils 'Circle To Search' Feature For Premium Android Smartphones (Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash)
Google has announced two major updates on Wednesday to make Google searches on premium Android phones more powerful. The new feature, dubbed “Circle to Search”, helps users search anything on their device by using gestures. Google also announced that the multisearch in Lens is getting an AI-powered upgrade.
Google says that Circle to Search is a new way to search anything on an Android device without switching apps. With this feature, Android users will be able to search anything instantly on their phone by using gestures like circling, highlighting, scribbling, or tapping. Google delivers the search results to users without having them leave the app they were originally using. This gesture feature will be perfect when they have to initiate a search to find more details about something in a video or an image. The tech giant claims that Circle to Search can help users quickly identify items in a photo or video.
Today, we’re introducing two updates to help you search any way, anywhere you want:
1️⃣ Circle to Search, a new way to search on Android
2️⃣ Gen AI-powered multisearch, so you can ask more complex questions about what you see ↓https://t.co/Il48xd4UJX— Google (@Google) January 17, 2024
Android users can long-press the home button or navigation bar on the device to enable the Circle to Search feature. Once enabled, users can select any item they see by circling it to find more information without leaving the current app. Once finished, users can simply swipe away to return to their original app. The Circle to Search feature will be available on certain flagship Android devices, including the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and the newly launched Galaxy S24 series, starting January 31, 2024. Google also mentioned that this feature will be available in all languages and locations where it is available.
Google has also included AI-powered upgrades to multisearch. The multisearch feature, which was added to Google Lens in 2022, permits users to combine image and text searches. With the new upgrade, users can either take a photo or upload a screenshot, then ask a question about it in the search box. Users will then receive an AI-powered overview. Google has rolled out the AI multisearch feature in the United States.
