We’ve talked about Google’s new Circle to Search feature on several occasions in recent weeks, thanks to the handy new trick being a part of the Galaxy S24 launch, then January’s Pixel Feature Drop, and the eventual rollout of it on January 31. Unfortunately for those in the Android Beta Program, Circle to Search just never showed up.
In today’s Android 14 QPR3 Beta 1 build, Google has acknowledged that they unintentionally left beta users out of the Circle to Search fun. They’ve fixed it in this first QPR3 build and it should be live the minute you flash it, as you can see in the image above.
What have you been missing out on, Android 14 beta user? Assuming you missed this launch or forgot because it never showed up on your Pixel phone, here’s what you need to know.
To get started with Circle to Search, all you have to do is long-press on your phone’s navigation bar. That will trigger your device to create a quick screenshot of your current screen, which then lets you circle items, scribble across them, or tap something to allow a search through Google to commence. You can search for text too. And really, this can be activated from any screen, including YouTube or Instagram.
The idea here is that you might find yourself scrolling through a website or app and stumble upon something you want to know more about. That could be text you don’t understand, an outfit you like, a person you don’t know, etc. This search then takes place and can then be dismissed quickly, leaving you within the app and right back to what you were doing.
Have fun, Pixel beta users!