One of the tools with the most potential on your Android phone is Google Lens and I dare say it’s also one of the most underused. Google Lens is something like a kind of virtual reality experience that lets you access additional real-world information: just point your mobile phone at Google Lens to access a vast array of possibilities. Here you have lots of ideas for getting the most out of Google Lens.
scan any text
One of the most useful functions that I use the most is that of capture text from a physical document – It can be a magazine, a newspaper, a book, etc.– and copy it to my phone’s clipboard. From there, you can do whatever you want: forward it to a text document, paste it into an email, forward it to someone via WhatsApp.
It’s as simple as opening the Google Lens app and clicking “Tap magnifying glass to search,” then tapping “Text.” Now hover over the text you are interested in and select the specific part you want to copy.
Who lean or pronounce written texts
This is best seen with an example: you have a story in front of you and you want someone to read it to you. Repeat the process from the previous point and when you are at the point where the app has detected the text, press “Listen”.
This can be useful for practicing listening and pronunciation of a language that you do not master, for people with visual difficulties or even for reading a story to a toddler… even if the voice used by Google is fairly neutral and doesn’t add nuance.
Scan texts directly to your computer
When you select a set of text with the Google Lens app, a menu appears at the bottom where, among other options, you can copy it to your computer, which is great for productivity by speeding up this transmission process.
instant translations
This is another of the possibilities of Google Lens that I use the most on a daily basis, in particular when I travel or simply if I go to a restaurant that serves dishes from certain countries where information about dishes or ingredients is displayed.
The procedure goes through opening the application again and in this case we go to the bottom menu of “Translate”. You don’t even have to take a picture, just point the camera to the text so that it directly detects what language it is in and translates it to your language, but you can choose other initial and final languages on the fly. Go ahead, the translation is not the best in the world, but it helps to give you a general idea.
The most comfortable calculator… and much more
Although any phone has a built-in calculator that you can use, you will need to enter it first for it to solve operations. It is the first thing you save and it is not little.
The second is its calculation capacity: a standard calculator will solve arithmetic operations for you, but with Google Lens you can even solve equations and other advanced questions of math, physics, chemistry and more without typing anything.
In this case, the option that interests you in the menu is “Homework” and you will see that beyond giving you the answer, it goes step by step because it is not so much that you do your homework d ‘ado, but rather that you learn in the procedure (and if you don’t want to, you scroll down and go directly to the answer).
Scan QR codes
Even if today it is relatively common for the cameras of Android phones (including iPhones) to automatically detect when there is a QR code to read it and direct us anywhere, there are still terminals that require an application specific… or not. As soon as you open Google Lens and point to the QR code, the app instantly captures it.
From business cards to your calendar contacts
We saw in early ideas that Google Lens allows you to quickly and easily scan text and this can be used for something that is always in vogue: the business cards that continue to be offered during professional meetings.
Beyond the “rudimentary” way of taking the text of the card and that it is us who create a contact in our calendar, on Android, the process is automatic as soon as you point and tap on the name, how well it recognizes the nature of the information.
Judge books by their cover
You’re on the subway and you see someone reading a novel with great concentration and you wonder what it’s going to be like. Enough with point to its cover with Google Lens open and your curiosity will be instantly satisfied
If before you took a quick look to keep the title to investigate later, now in seconds you have everything in a moderately discreet way
Shopping on the go
We have just seen a specific case in which in a few steps we could have executed the purchase of that book that aroused our interest, but inThe purchase process has its own option in the Google Lens menu.
So once you take a photo and swipe to “Shopping” for online stores to appear where you can complete the transaction. You can also do this by taking a picture of an electric scooter that you pass in the street and that you fall in love with, or even the label of a garment, since it scans barcodes.
Discover recipes and ingredients and more
If you find yourself in front of a physical plate of food or a photo of a specific plate of food, Google Lens offers its name, recipes and ingredients so that you can prepare it yourself or even to discover potential allergens. You can do the same with a restaurant menu.
In the United States, a few months ago, Google Lens rolled out an additional feature that also shows you which restaurants near you have this dish on their menu just by pointing to the camera and open app and “Add to your search” and typing “near me”.
Ride a freetour
When traveling through a city, it’s normal to find out about places of interest in advance, but sometimes you wander around and find something that intrigues you: could it be an important building? what will this statue be? Create your own free tour with Google Lens by simply taking a photo and tapping search for details, a win-win situation: you have the snapshot to remember and access to all your information
You can also do this without taking the photo, just by pointing and selecting “Places”. Be careful because if it is a place to visit you will even have timetables and prices. How about a museum? Additional point: It will tell you up to which exhibitions it houses and its most relevant works.
Recognize species and breeds of animals and plants
What tree is it? And this flower? Is it a Pekingese or a Chihuaha? All of these questions normally require extensive knowledge of botany or biology to know distinguish species and races and the differences between them or simply aim with Google Lens so that it is this tool that tells you what you have in front of you. There’s only one scenario in which I don’t trust him: when I go to the mountains and find mushrooms.
Add events to the calendar
Imagine walking down the street and they give you the typical flyer with an event you want to go to: a marathon, a party, a market…as is normal, you usually keep it in your pocket. coat and it ends up being lost, you have the possibility to take a photo but with Google Lens you have much more: take the photo from the app and you can automatically add it to your google calendar. By scanning a flyer, you will see how you can manage information by linking it to Maps, Chrome and, of course, Calendar.
The easiest way to find out what a restaurant looks like
You go down the street hungry, you want to go eat somewhere but without knowing a place, it can be risky to know if you are going to like it, how is the service, the quality of the prices… dispel your doubts just by pointing with Google Lens using the “Sites” option where, in addition to details such as their opening hours and general information, you will have access to the opinions of other customers.
Connect to a site’s Wi-Fi without having to retype the password
We end with a most useful trick resulting from his ability to digitize what he “sees”. It points to the router password (usually the default password is pasted under the device itself) and take advantage of its ability to extract text to keep only the passwordwhich you can copy and paste into your settings to access this network.
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