Thanks to a recent update, Google Lens now allows you to add voice recordings to image searches, providing vital context to queries. This feature appears to have been discovered by Android Police after they found a new glowing animation in the app. According to the report, the glow was over the magnifying glass icon, and tapping on it would bring up a “Voice Search” tooltip on the screen, informing them of the change.
If you hold down the shutter button, it will expand and a message will appear telling you to “speak now to ask about this image.” You can then issue a command or ask a question, and what you say will appear on the screen as a floating text transcript. Google Lens will begin its search shortly after you release the button, taking the recording into account.
Android expert Mishaal Rahman posted a demo of the feature in action. He asked Google Lens to count how many blueberries were on his plate. Rahman says the queries are displayed in Google Search, where “Gemini will attempt to provide an answer” within an AI overview.
You can now use your voice to add context to searches in Google Lens! Press and hold the shutter button in Lens and the prompt “Speak now to ask about this image” will appear. After you say your question, release the button and Google Gemini will try to give you an answer. pic.twitter.com/uHkgjNQOogAugust 5, 2024
Performance
The key word in that last sentence is “try,” because Google Lens doesn’t always get things right. We received the update on our Android phone and immediately started testing it out, and the results were pretty mixed.
In one test, we asked the app where we could buy a certain brand of sparkling water. Google Lens, with a little help from Gemini, showed us nearby stores that sold that same brand. We then asked it to identify the food we were eating, and the software correctly identified it as pico de gallo. However, when we asked it to count the buttons on a PS5 controller, Google Lens either failed or gave the wrong answer.
The tool works pretty well overall, though it can sometimes fail to respond. Still, the update works pretty well for something that had a rapid turnaround. A month ago, industry insider AssembleDebug first spotted hints of its development on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter).
And now it's feature complete in no time. Android Police claims the update is a server-side update, so it should be available on all Android smartphones by now. If you don't see it, make sure you have the latest patches for the Google Search and Lens apps installed on your mobile device.
While we're at it, check out TechRadar's roundup of the best Android phones for 2024.
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