After debuting on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones, the Circle to Search feature is also coming to owners of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7a phones, with the not-so-latest-generation smartphone models receiving one of the most popular AI-based innovations.
Already available on Pixel 7 Pixel 7 Pro phones, the feature based on generative AI technologies allows you to start searches by simply circling, underlining or selecting the object of interest on the screen. And if all you have is a search idea, you can write or draw what you’re thinking of, and the AI takes care of the rest.
It is not yet clear whether Google will continue to expand the list of supported devices, bringing Circle to Search to older Pixel devices as well. The fact is that the functionality based almost exclusively on processing provided by Google servers would have no reason not to work with older phones and even devices from other manufacturers, even if they are not based on Android.
But Google has confirmed that it added support for real-time translation of the content on the screen to the Pixel series devices. This functionality also starts from Circle to Search and involves selecting an alternative option for translation instead of searching with Google Search, when this alternative is available.
We remind you that Samsung already offers Circle to Search functionality on a wide range of devices updated to One UI 6.1 firmware, including the Galaxy S23 series (including S23 FE ), Galaxy Z Fold5 and Flip5, plus the Galaxy Tab S9 family of tablets.
It should also be said that Circle to Search is just a “repackaged” version of a functionality that Google already offered in a slightly different formula for users of the Google Lens app. Thus, if your phone does not support Circle to Search, you just need to install the Google Lens app and use the option to search by images. Admittedly, you can only do this with images captured by the phone’s camera, not by circling anything on the phone’s screen.
