For today’s tip, all you have to do is hold down the home button (or power button) – as Samsung shows here in the Circle-to-Search demo. (Image: Samsung)
Circle to Search is one of the new Google features that was a big focus at the Galaxy Unpacked event. The feature is quickly explained: You can circle or mark screen content in any app to start a Google search without having to switch apps. Of course, AI is also used.
Has now Samsung Netherlands announced that Circle to Search will remain exclusive to Google and Samsung phones until September.
We’ll show you a trick that allows you to use a very similar function today – and it’s most likely already installed on your cell phone.
This is how you search your screen
- Press and hold the power button or home button on your phone
- The Google Assistant now appears.
- Tap “Find on Screen”
That’s it! You can now select different elements on your screen and search results will immediately be displayed at the bottom of the screen – without having to switch apps.
Simply type “Search on screen” and then select what you want to search for at the top. The results are shown below – without having to draw circles.
If you highlight text, a Google search will be started with exactly that text. If you mark an image instead, a reverse image search will be started.
The Google Assistant uses “Google Lens” for this, but you don’t have to have the app installed to use the function. Your cell phone just needs to have Android 10 or higher and have the Assistant activated.
However, the dedicated Google Lens app can still be very helpful if you want to start a Google search with your camera or with saved images.
Where does “Search on Screen” work?
In general, you can use the function in any app, as the Google Assistant can be accessed at any time. However, Google has confirmedthat the function does not work properly in Google Chrome (and other Chromium browsers).
The function appears sometimes and sometimes not on our cell phone when we use it in the Chrome browser. However, it works excellently in other apps. The developers at Google are aware of the problem and are working on a solution.
What makes Circle-to-Search better?
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Circle to Search: Google and Samsung show a new way of searching on mobile phones in the trailer
Unlike the current method, Circle-To-Search uses AI to improve search results. For example, you can search for a specific image and ask a question about it at the same time.
Example from Google itself: You highlight the picture of a corn dog and search for “Why are they so popular?” An AI chatbot then answers your question.
You can still add text to Find on Screen requests, but it doesn’t work very well yet. The corn dog example simply shows pictures of the food and doesn’t answer the question.
By the way: In Samsung’s demo video you can see that you also have to hold down the home button for Circle-To-Search. The Google Assistant is also used. The new feature will remain exclusive to Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones until September. If you don’t have either of these, you can use the alternative shown here until then.
