6 Ways to Get Circle to Search Feature on Your Phone

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Series focuses on the AI features baked into it; Samsung calls it Galaxy AI. Some of these features are developed in collaboration with Google, especially the Circle to Search feature, which lets you see helpful, high-quality search results around the information on the screen. This read will discuss how an older non-Samsung phone can do the same job.

How to Get Samsung’s Circle to Search Feature on Any Phone?

The Circle to Search is a more intuitive way to look up additional information about the elements on the screen. The user needs to press the home button long and highlight the element with a circle, scribble, or a simple tap, and AI will bring up the relevant information sourced from the web in front of you without having to search for it manually.

Below, we have discussed the existing alternatives of circle to search, which you can use on your phone right now, irrespective of how old or new your phone is.

On Android

Method 1 – Use Circle to Search on Google Pixel 6 and Later

After its inception with Galaxy S24 Series and Google Pixel 8 Series, the Circle to Search feature was rolled out to more phones in March 2024. It can now be accessed on Google Pixel 6a and later models. The process is identical to how it works on Samsung Galaxy phones.

Follow these steps if you have a compatible Google Pixel phone.

1. Go to the screen where you want to look up an object, image, or text element.

2. Press and hold the home button or navigation bar on your Google Pixel phone.

3. Create a circle or lasso around the element you want to look up.

This will scan the selected element using Google Lens and show you the relevant information on the screen. You can even directly buy apparel, accessories, and similar objects from the results.

Method 2 – Use Smart Select on Pixel Smartphones

As mentioned above, the Circle to Search is built in collaboration with Google; it uses Google Lens integration to fetch relevant information from the web around it. The Google Pixel smartphone has had a similar feature since the Pixel 2 ran on Android 9 (Pie). Here’s how it works.

1. Bring the object, image, or text element you want to search on the screen.

2. Perform a half-swipe-up gesture to go to the recent menu.

3. Choose Select under the active app window and tap the image. Now, select Lens from the options.

4. Now, adjust the corners to fit the element you want to search.

Based on the type of content selected, you will get various helpful suggestions to take action, like calling someone directly, getting directions, copying, sharing, searching, saving images, etc.

Method 3 – Use the Galaxy.AI App

You can use this third-party app from Translapp on a non-Samsung or non-Google phone. The developer utilized Google Lens to add the Circle to Search functionality on Android phones running Android 7 and later.

1. Install the Galaxy.AI app from the Google Play Store on your phone.

You must install the Google Lens app on your phone for this to work.

2. Scroll through the setup screen and tap “Continue” to proceed.

3. When prompted, go to “Accessibility” settings by tapping “Turn On.”

4. Now, tap “Galaxy.AI” and enable the toggle next to “Use Galaxy.AI.”

5. Tap “Allow” when prompted to grant the app access to read your screen.

6. Once done, to use the circle to search, tap the sidebar arrow to reveal the floating touch button.

7. Select the “Image” option and tap “Start Now” to let the app take a screenshot and read your screen.

8. Now, create a circle around the element on the screen and select “Search with Google” to look up information using Google Lens.

Method 4 – Use Google Lens

On all other Android phones, Google Lens offers the same functionality. It is available in the camera interface and the Google Photos app. However, you can even look up elements in a random image from the internet on your Android phone or iPhone.

1. Using Google search, go to the image with the object or textual information you want to search.

2. Tap and hold to see more options and select Search Image with Google Lens.

3. You can tap the Lens icon if the image is under the Google Images tab.

If the image is high quality, Google will automatically identify its elements. You can then directly tap on the elements to look for relevant actions around them. You can even select and translate text in an image using this method.

On iPhone

1. Install or update the Google App from the Apple App Store.

2. Launch the Shortcuts app and tap the “+” (plus) at top right to create a new Shortcut.

3. Tap on “Add Action” and type “Screenshot” in the search bar at the top to select “Take Screenshot.”

4. Now, tap on ‘search for apps and actions’ at the bottom to add a secondary action to your shortcut.

5. Type “Search image” to select “Search image with Lens” from the list of options.

 

6. Once you have specified the actions of your shortcut, tap the downward arrow at the top and select “Rename.”

7. Give a name to your Shortcut, for example, “Search with Lens” or “Search using Lens” and tap “Done.”

Method 1 – iPhone 15 and later

1. Launch Settings on your iPhone and navigate to the “Action button.”

An image of the side of the iPhone will appear with icons representing actions you can assign to the Action button.

2. Now, swipe right till you see the “Shortcut” as an action on the screen.

3. Tap the “” arrows icon under the Shortcut to view all your Shortcuts.

4. From the Shortcuts menu, select the shortcut you have created above.

Method 2 – On iPhone 14 and earlier

1. Go to your iPhone’s Settings app and navigate to “Accessibility.”

2. Under Accessibility settings, tap on “Touch.”

3. Scroll down and go to”Back Tap” here, tap on “Double Tap” or “Triple Tap” based on how you would like to trigger it.

4. Now, scroll down and select the Shortcut you have created above to set the action on the back tap gesture.

FAQs

Q. How Can I Get Samsung’s Circle to Search on My Phone?

If you are a Google Pixel user, use the Smart Select feature to call Google Lens on any screen. For other smartphone users, take a screenshot and use Google Lens to look for relevant information around the elements in the image.

Q. Will Other Samsung Galaxy Phones Get the Circle to Search Feature?

The “Circle to Search” feature uses Google Lens capabilities, already available on most Android phones. It should arrive on other Samsung phones, starting with Galaxy S23 Series, Z Fold 5, and Z Flip 5. While there is no official statement from Samsung about this, we will update this page if there’s any update from Samsung.

Wrapping Up

The Circle to Search feature is currently limited to the Samsung Galaxy S24 series. Some of its functions and availability may not be compatible with certain apps and vary by country and language. In our opinion, it will arrive on Pixel smartphones soon, and by the time developers port it, you can use the methods mentioned above to look up things using Google Lens. Stay tuned to GadgetsToUse for more such reads, and check the ones linked below.

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