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One of the headlining AI features introduced during Samsung’s Galaxy unpacked event was Circle to Search. This basically makes using Google Lens quicker and easier. Shortly after news of it making it to the Pixel 8 phones, we got the news that Circle to Search won’t be making it to more devices until October.
In case you don’t know what Circle to Search is, it makes searching images so much more convenient. If you have something displayed on your screen, simply access Google Assistant and circle the item on the screen that you want to search. Say, you’re watching a video that’s displaying a certain pair of shoes. Access Google Assistant and draw a circular around that pair of shoes. Google will then do a search of that image and give you results based on what it saw.
It’s currently available on all Galaxy S24 phones and the Google Pixel 8 phones. However, this being a Google feature, it’s slated to make it to more devices as time goes on.
But, hold your horses: Circle the search is not coming until October for most devices
This hit the Tech Community like a punch to the gut. There’s so much fanfare and hype around this feature. It makes Google Lens much quicker and easier to access. So, this is very disappointing news, and it gets worse.
According to a Samsung press release, the Circle to Search feature is not planned to make it to additional Android devices until October 5th this year. That’s eight months away and a very long time for eager tech enthusiasts to wait. This excludes even other snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered devices. So, we can tell that this decision isn’t about raw processing power.
What makes this worse is Samsung’s phrasing. “Circle to Search may become available on Android devices from other brands from October 5, 2024.” it “may” come to other brands from October 5th. So, there’s a chance that it won’t come even then. The quote goes on to state that there are “no active developments underway.” This turns the news from being frustrating to infuriating.
So, what’s the deal?
Obviously, Samsung didn’t explain the reasons behind this decision. Google has been silent on it as well. The only thing we can do is speculate and glean information from what was given. What information were we giving? Well, let’s look at the month, October. By the time October rolls around, what has already happened? The next Samsung Galaxy unpacked event where Samsung unveils its upcoming foldable phones. So, it’s tempting to believe that Samsung wants Circle to Search to be a headlining feature of these devices as well. So, the only non-Pixel phone users with this feature will be Galaxy S24, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Flip 6 users.
Something like this isn’t entirely unlikely, as Galaxy Watch users had Wear OS 3 for more than a full year before it made it to other users. We all know that Samsung and Google are tight buddies, and they’ve left other uses out in the rain to give Galaxy devices special treatment before. So, this just might be an example of that partnership (though Samsung is removing Google Assistant from its TVs).
If you’ve been waiting for this feature to come out, and you don’t have a Galaxy or Pixel phone, you’re just going to have to wait almost an entire year to use it.
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