Following desktop back in November, a Google Lens shortcut has now been added to google.com on Android for another way to launch the visual search tool.
Google continues to closely intertwine Lens with Search and it now appears at the right of the pill-shaped field. The voice search microphone has been pushed slightly to the left, and is now the four-color version. (Previously, Google just used the generic gray icon.)
This updated Search bar with Lens appears on both the mobile Search results page and google.com, thus matching Chrome’s Omnibox. Tapping momentarily shows a square loading indicator before Google Lens opens. It’s the same flow for the Assistant shortcut that only appears in the web app launcher next to your profile avatar on the mobile Google homepage.
The change brings mobile and desktop Google.com inline with each other as the company increasingly pushes Lens as a visual search tool. Recent additions include:
- Google Photos for Android testing ‘Search’ option that enhances Lens, emphasizes faces
- Google Lens replaces Google Translate’s camera mode on Android and iOS
- Google Maps getting Live View AR search in these cities as Lens adds ‘near me’ food lookup
More on Google Lens
- Pixel phones lost a handy Google Lens shortcut – here’s how you can still access it quickly
- Here are the top Google Lens and Hum to Search lookups of 2022
- Google completes iOS 16 Lock Screen widgets rollout with Maps and Search
Author: Abner Li
Source: 9TO5Google
