A select handful of Pixel and Galaxy smartphones have the exclusive Circle to Search feature. Pressing and holding the home button on one of the models will bring up an overlay “that allows you to circle… objects” on the screen to identify them through Google Search. We wonder if and when Google plans to widely roll out Circle to Search on more smartphones. Interestingly, a similar feature was recently released, but it's on iPhone.
It's called Search Your Screenshot and it was created by a group of developers working on the Google Search app for iOS. Minsang Choi, design manager for Google Lens, says it adds a visual search feature to the action button on an iPhone 15 Pro. Pressing the button takes a screenshot of what's on the screen and the software proceeds to run a Google Lens scan. Once this is done, the search results appear from buttons complete with images, forum posts and shopping links to the object you detect. Choi says, “It's basically Circle to Search but faster.”
He has since deleted his post on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) where he initially shared information about the shortcut. We have the images he posted. They show a settings menu of presumably Choi setting up Search Your Screenshot on an iPhone. The second image shows the shortcut that appears in the action button's single interface and the third image shows the results of a computer case from Teenage Engineering.
If you want to see it in action, 9To5Google, as part of their coverage, made a video on YouTube demonstrating Search Your Screenshot. Choi says you can try the tool by installing the Google Search app on your iPhone or downloading the shortcut from iCloud.
How to enable it on older iPhones
Going back to the 9To5Google report, they made an interesting discovery. Search Your Screenshot is not exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro because it works on older models that support the Back Tap gesture. This means devices as old as the iPhone 8 can run the feature. However, setting it up on an older model requires more work.
Apple has instructions that teach people how to connect shortcuts to Back Tap. It involves entering the Settings menu, choosing the gesture you want to use (a double tap or a triple tap), and then applying Find your screenshot. According to the post, make sure to select “Always Allow” when you first use the tool to enable Google Lens uploads.
After reading everything, we couldn't help but wonder about other Android phones. This feature is not available in Google Search for Android, which is strange. Although it may not be the same as Circle to Search, Search Your Screenshot is still a useful tool. So we reached out to the tech giant to ask if there are plans for further expansion. We will let you know if we receive a response.
Until then, check out TechRadar's list of the best iPhones for 2024.
