Circle to Search May Soon Let Users Copy and Share Screenshots of a Part of the Screen

As per the report, drawing a circle in an area with the Circle to Search feature shows the new features.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 22 April 2024 20:33 IST

Circle to Search May Soon Let Users Copy and Share Screenshots of a Part of the Screen

Photo Credit: Google

Google recently said it was working on eliminating accidental touches when activating Circle to Search

Highlights

Currently, Circle to Search only allows copying text
The new options were spotted within the latest version of the feature
The Circle to Search feature was introduced with the Galaxy S24 series

Circle to Search could soon get a new functionality to let users capture screenshots of a portion of the screen, as per a new report. The visual lookup feature, which was launched in January 2024 with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, allows users to copy text from a selected area, but so far did not support taking screenshots or sharing it with other users. This could change soon as the new functionality was spotted within the latest version of the feature.

According to a report by PiunikaWeb (via AssembedDebug), the new functionality was spotted within the latest version of the feature. It is not clear whether it is available to beta testers or not. Based on the video shared by the tipster on X (formerly known as Twitter), activating Circle to Search and highlighting an area on the screen now shows two new options of Copy and Share.

🔥 Circle to Search on Pixel will soon let you copy and share selected areas as images

📝 Read - https://t.co/J0EOtc6Rgt #GooglePixel #Google #Android pic.twitter.com/CCUljuTq4q
— AssembleDebug (@AssembleDebug) April 20, 2024

It appears the option automatically pops up after selecting an area for the first time, but even fine-tuning it by expanding or reducing the area does not remove it. Once the user is happy with the selected region they can either copy or share the image, as per the report. Copying the image is said to take it to the clipboard, through which it can be taken to any photo editor app for further cropping or editing. The share option opens a panel to show all the apps through which a user can share the image with others.

Notably, so far users could only copy text through the visual lookup feature. While Android smartphones have a functionality to take quick screenshots with a three-finger swipe-down gesture, it captures the entire screen. In case you want to show just a part of the screen, the only option is to open the screenshot and then crop the image. However, this new functionality appears to be faster and more seamless as the user can directly select the area and share it in two quick steps.

Recently, Google published a podcast with a couple of employees who worked on the Circle to Search feature. The developers highlighted the existing issue of accidental touches activating the feature unintentionally, and said they are working on fixing the issue soon.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Circle to Search, Google

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More