When Google announced a new feature called Google Lens that will soon be available on Pixel devices and eventually other Android smartphones, we were pretty excited because it seems like a neat tool to have. The ability to “read” your photos can sometimes come in handy and we could already imagine its real-world applications. It has been released with the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL phones, but now it looks like they’re testing it out as a preview on selected Pixel and Pixel XL devices.
If you’ve never heard of Google Lens before, it’s new feature that will analyze the photos that are on your camera roll and give you the results in cards or even opening the corresponding app. It can also copy text on the photos like phone numbers, addresses, dates, etc. If it’s a landmark in the photo, it can give you more information about that. And pictures of books or album covers or DVD cases or artwork can also be recognized by the Lens and you get details about that piece of media.
Several people that have Pixel or Pixel XL devices have reported that they updated their Photos app to the latest version, which is 3.7, and they re-opened it, they saw a screen for the “Google Lens Pixel Preview” which listed down the features discussed above. But it looks like not everyone has it as it is a server-side update.
As for Lens in Google Assistant, it will reportedly be released in the next few weeks for the Pixel 2 devices and then later on, the Pixel 2016 devices. Both the Photos and Assistant Lens features will eventually arrive in Android smartphones, but don’t hold your breath just yet.
VIA: 9 to 5 Google
