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One of Google‘s noteworthy additions to Google Search is the new Circle to Search feature. It was unveiled in January this year with the Galaxy S24 Series with it hitting the Pixel 8 series a little later. It’s now also available on some of the older Pixel and Galaxy devices including the Google Pixel Fold (Review).
After Voice Search and Google Lens, Circle to Search seems to be the next big upgrade to Google Search that makes it much more easy and convenient to access. To trigger the feature, you just have to long press on the Navigation Bar or the Home button at the bottom of your compatible Android device. An overlay of Circle to Search appears on the screen where you can quickly select both text and images and access Google Search from any application.
Gesture navigation users are facing issues with Circle to Search.
With the button activation, the development of Circle to Search has replaced Android’s Assistant activation. Now users have to use the hotword, power button, or the app shortcut for the purpose. But, with the gesture navigation setting, users are facing issues of unwanted triggering of Circle to Search.
Many people including Reddit user throwitaway0192837 and Abner Li from 9to5Google have previously reported about the issue. Now, it appears that Google has been listening to the feedback and is working on solving the unwanted triggering of Circle to Search.
“We still have further to go, and we’re working a lot on making sure it’s triggered when you want, [and] it’s not triggered when you don’t want,” notes the latest Made by Google Podcast.
Google’s podcast talks about the development of the Circle to Search.
The podcast episode reveals that Google Lens is the product that powers this intuitive search feature. The only difference is that Circle to Search is “universally available.”
People across many teams at Google believe that Google Lens is a very capable tool and has a lot of potential. Back in January 2023, it started the development of Circle to Search. The first prototype turned out to be fascinating. The company kept it simple and created this new tool to improve the search experience. Notably, Circle to Search is only available on Android, meaning you cannot use the feature on different platforms, even if your device uses Google to search.
As the Made by Google Podcast discusses, this tool is great for copying not just images but also text, which you can easily translate and search with. You can also select and search with both images and text together.