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Update: Google Lens in Assistant officially rolling out to all Pixel phones
Google has just announced that Google Lens in the Assistant will be rolling out to all Pixel phones (Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL) in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, India, and Singapore "over the coming weeks." Once you receive the update, you'll be able to call up Google Assistant and tap the Google Lens icon in the bottom right corner.
Have you received the update yet?
Google revealed several weeks ago that it had almost finished work on its Google Lens feature for the Google Pixels and that it was just polishing up some final bits. Reports on Reddit over the weekend suggested that it was now officially rolling out, and we’ve since spotted it on one of our own Pixels.
Google Lens is something like a Google Assistant-powered version of Google Goggles and it’s found in a new button at the bottom-right of the Google Assistant interface; tap it and a camera viewfinder will be launched. You can then tap on something in the viewfinder — a sign, a poster, a product etc — and Google Assitant will attempt to offer more information about it.
The feature can also be used on photos or screenshots you’ve already taken (via Google Photos) and can achieve neat tricks like connecting to Wi-Fi networks by scanning the password on the rear of a router — something which could come in very handy when you’re visiting a friend’s house.
We’ve seen this on one of our European Google Pixel 2s running the Android 8.1 Developer Preview, but it doesn’t appear to have launched on all handsets just yet (it’s also going set to remain a Pixel-exclusive feature for the moment). It should arrive on other devices any day, though, so launch the Google Assitant on your handset now to see if you’ve got it.
What are your thoughts on Google Lens? Let us know in the comments.