It took a year but Circle to apply has finally won me from Google Lens

As it turns out, the answer is many people want it. In every vote we have done here at Android Authority Or on our social platforms, Circle to Search has received a lot of positive approval, so much that I decided to give it a real shaking instead of continuing to reject it. So for the last couple of months I have forced myself to skip lens and go to a circle to search instead, and as much as I hate to admit it, I like it. Even prefer it. Here’s the reason.

Although the Google Lens is found in the Google Search Widget, Google app, Chrome Browser and Google Photos, the reason I have loved it so much in recent years not only because of the lens itself but also that I can trigger It anytime and anytime on my pixel phones. I just swipe up any screen in any app, and I can choose any image to trigger lenses on it. This even works in apps where there are no selectable photos, like Instagram. Or on websites where the image is built into the background.

The problem with this is that there is a pixel-exclusive advantage associated with Pixel Launcher. On any other phone, the swiping of Android’s overview does not allow me to trigger lenses, so I have to take a screen first, open it on pictures and then use lens on it. A stupid and time -consuming solution that very few people knew about.

Which circle to search did is democratize the lens and allow more Android phones And users to access it. For now, yes, Circle to search is limited to a few dozen non-pixel phonesBut there are a few dozen more than the Google Lens’ swipe-up gesture ever came. Many galaxies, Z and A-series phones and tablets, along with a few Motorola, OnePlus, nothing, Xiaomi, Honor and Tecno models.

So now, whether I grab the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Nothing Phone 2, Honor 200 Pro, or my reliable Pixel 9 Pro XL, I can search for things on the screen in the same way across them all. I don’t have to stop and think about how I can trigger objective here or there; I just press and hold the navigation handle and circle what I want on screen. I love this texture, although I just want to see Google bring it to all Android phones once and for all. Gatekeeping it to a few models from each manufacturer no longer makes sense.

Although I love my Pixel phone now playing function, it is not as easy to trigger on request. There are often times when I watch a video on YouTube, Instagram or another social media platform where the music is not marked and I need to know what song it is. In these cases, I have approached Circle to search to solve my dilemma. My husband, who often grabs new music suggestions from basketball and football complex videos, has been fond of Circle to search because of this as well.

Put aside the strange name of the function in this case, Circle to Search’s song search works super good. It uses Google / Google Assistants Music Search, and I’ve had good results with it, whether it’s the original music, a cover, a live reproduction, an Acapella version, or even just some who hums the notes.

The music icon is just there, so I simply have to press it when a video plays, and I get the result: Easy Peasy. There is a lot, much, much easier than trying to trigger Assistants’ music recognition while playing something in another app or finagler in a way with two phones to identify a song playing from one on the other. Bless technological gentlemen to make this so easy now!

While Google Lens Development had stopped a long time, Circle to Search improvements has been all furious on Casa Google. The feature has gained a lot of love over the past year through Pixel drops And other updates. From the music search mentioned above to AI overviewsa New sharing button To send my friends as Lopsided Champion League Draw, Pixel Screenshots integration to save the front of a book I want to read, and shortcuts to see my search history or delete the last 15 minutes, there are many new opportunities for me to dig in . Absolute time savers.

However, one of my favorite use cases has been translations and QR code reading. I love using Circle to search to translate an entire menu or side in an unknown language into English so I can read it. This has been very useful for newer trips to Lisbon and Tirana. It also works on social networks where the translation option is not available or is not visible on the current page/tweet/post/etc.

The second task that circles to search has made easy is to scan QR codes from the screen to my phone. It confuses me that this was not already – not even with lens – and I still remember when I bought my first ESIM and had to view the QR code on my husband’s phone to scan it from mine. The lens has since improved a bit and now gives me the code to install ESIM, but there is nothing compared to Circle to Search’s built-in QR code detection for all types of codes, including ESIM installations. I just trigger it, and I don’t even have to circle or press anything; By default, the QR code is discovered with an icon to set up an ESIM or open a QR codes website. Simple like that.

Look, if I’m honest, I know Google could have kept the Google lens and added all these features to it. In fact, it is not a new technical circuit; Only a new gesture triggers lenses with a few extra features, so why did Google had to develop a duplicate and redirect it?

I think the answer lies around marketing more than anything else. “Google Lens” doesn’t sound funny or interesting; It Harkens back to an era of corporate -centric services. “Circle to Search” is snappy, cool, and does not necessarily carry the weight of the big g with it, even though it is really a Google feature. But the name also acts as a description of the function, which is much clearer than the vague “lens” wording.

I also think that Circle to Search has won a lot of love not only because of the name, but also because the gesture itself is simple and satisfying. Unlike lens, I like that I can specify exactly which parts of an image I want to look at or choose some text in addition to an image to add context. Sometimes that’s all I need to identify one cool bell face to pixel watch 3 Or a new wallpaper for my phone. It is also something that is completely satisfying with just drawing a circle on the screen instead of accurately dragging text anchors over words and letters.

At this time I am a convert. I rarely sweep up for the Google Lens, I just circle … to search. However, I want to see Google roll it out to all Android phones, and maybe integrate it with Gemini without having to go through the screen to start asking questions about an item.