Google Lens

After being integrated across Android and the Chrome browser, Google Lens is now the main visual search experience on the desktop Google Images website.

Google is rolling out Android 13 Beta 3.2 this afternoon, and it brings more user-facing changes, especially to the Pixel Launcher, than usual for a patch.

Google is updating Lens in desktop Chrome so that it doesn’t open as a new tab and keeps you on the same page via a new side panel.

A week ago at I/O 2022, Google said it would optimize over 20 of its Android apps for large-screen devices. The first tablet update is now here, and that distinction goes to Google Lens.

Google Search is a powerful tool that harnesses the power of everything Google knows and uses it to give you more information about the world around you. Today at Google I/O 2022, Google has announced an expansion of Lens called “scene exploration” that will let the product “explore” your surroundings, identifying products and even filtering them in real time, as well as more enhancements to multisearch.

Last week, Google introduced Lens multisearch to let you ask questions about pictures on Android and iOS. The version of Google Lens included with desktop Chrome has now been updated to do more than just search for images.

One of the most interesting announcements at Google’s Search-focused keynote in September was a big upgrade to Lens that lets you take a photo and ask questions about it. “Multisearch” in Google Lens is now available to beta test on Android and iOS.

Google Lens today is primarily a visual lookup tool for mobile devices, but it’s been branching out to Chrome. The next expansion could see Google Search on the desktop web add Lens.

QR codes have been around for years, but they were underused in the time when they required a separate app to be installed in order to use them. Now, just about every phone, including Google’s Pixel lineup, has a QR scanner built-in, but according to a recent report, Google’s phones have been misreading some codes.

For two products that should be very important to Google, Assistant and Lens had a quiet 2021 compared to even the year prior. Fortunately, the lack of movement seems to be due to upcoming advancements being not quite ready yet.

In time for last-minute holiday shopping, Chrome for Android is getting a particularly useful price drop tracker right in the tab grid.

Last month, Google announced a big upgrade for Lens that’s coming next year, and that the visual search tool is coming directly to Chrome. Until then, the Google Lens UI on Android is seeing a tweak that lets you easily reanalyze images with a different filter.

In addition to the big MUM upgrade that lets you ask questions about a photo, Google Lens is getting more prominent on iOS and in desktop Chrome.

At I/O in May, Google announced Multitask Unified Model (MUM) as a big improvement to Search. MUM is now set to come to Google Lens “early next year.”

Google recently redesigned Lens to prioritize screenshot analysis over live capture. Google Lens is now seeing a Material You flourish and even more prominent placement on Android.

Over the weekend, the new Google Assistant on Pixel phone started losing its original translucent UI. The design that replaced it is now appearing on other (non-NGA) Android devices with minor tweaks – a shorter panel – and greater emphasis on Lens.

Google Chrome for desktop is set to gain a handy screenshot tool, complete with Google Lens integration, which should replace screenshot extensions.

Update: The Google Lens integration is now live in pre-release builds of Chrome.

Last week, Google started running ads on TikTok that promote several aspects of Google Lens, as well as Hum to Search. The clear goal of these five TikTok videos is to raise awareness about newer Google features that people might not have used before.