Google’s Circle to Search is probably one of the most interesting features that has popped up in Android for quite a while. Although it first made its debut on Samsung Galaxy phones earlier in the year, it has since found its way to Google’s Pixel handsets as well. And over time, Circle to Search has received a number of updates, bringing even more useful and powerful features like song search, that really sets it apart from similar features we’ve seen in the past.
But a new feature that was initially spotted back in May has finally made its way to the public, giving users an easier way to scan and retrieve information from bar codes and QR codes. The feature was highlighted by Mishaal Rahman on X, and should now be rolling out to users, as Rahman and others have received the update that gives Circle to Search the ability to automatically scan barcodes and QR codes without doing any extra actions.
Doing less now equals more
For the most part, users that get the update should no longer have to do any work when it comes to reading barcodes and QR codes. Whenever Circle to Search is active, it will automatically translate it into data that can be visually seen, making it less ambiguous for the user.
In the example above, you can see Rahman has navigated to a website that has a QR code embedded in it, and Circle to Search has automatically converted that into a URL that can be easily seen and interacted with. While it might not seem like a big deal, this is something that takes one extra step from the previous process, making it more seamless to access this kind of data.
In addition, Circle to Search has recently gained the ability to easily share information without taking a screenshot. The new “share” option allows you to share a complete screen or just parts of it with other apps and contacts. What’s great is that none of this gets saved to your phone, which could drastically reduce the storage space being used.
Despite making great strides, Circle to Search is still in its infancy, which means there could be big things on the horizon. And while it’s now available on Samsung and Google phones, we hope that the feature will find its way to more Android phones over the next year.
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