If you can’t find the (search) words, you can now find “the thing” instead
Both native and non-native English speakers can (and should) confess that they’ve been in this extremely frustrating situation: you see something and you want to search for it in Google, but you don’t know what it is. As you blush, you type more and more gibberish adjectives and “descriptions” in an attempt to crack the mystery.One solution is to use Google Lens and to image-search for whatever you search, be it a photo that you’ve taken with your phone, or an image from the web.
Yes, but that takes time. And effort. It’s 2024, so we’ll have none of that.
That’s where Circle to Search comes into play – this AI feature allows Galaxy S24 users (and Pixel 8, potentially) to search fast and seamlessly without leaving the app you’re in and disrupting whatever you’re doing.
How to invoke it?
To enable Circle to Search, one needs to long-press the home button (the navigation middle button at the bottom of the screen). A pill-shaped Google Assistant bubble pops up, and then, you just have to draw a circle around what you’re after. The pill-shaped bubble expands into a search results preview with information about whatever you’ve circled.
Also, you could highlight text. For example, if you get a message that you’re invited over for dinner at the X restaurant, but you have no idea where that is, you can now just open the message, again invoke the Circle to Search feature, and then just drag through the restaurant’s name. It should present you with Google’s search results and additional information.
Apart from the circle and highlight gestures, users can similarly scribble on, or tap on Galaxy S24’s screen to get instant search results for all that’s of interest.
Don’t forget that results may vary – after all, they depend on visual matches and since this is a brand new feature, don’t expect 100% accuracy 100% of the time. Of course, Circle to Search requires an internet connection as well as the latest Android version. “Some functions may not be compatible with certain apps”, says Samsung, so we’ll see how it goes.
