Circle to Search was introduced on the Galaxy S24 lineup from Samsung. Powered by Google, users can long press the home button, then circle literally anything on the screen to do a Google image search based on what was circled. It’s extremely intuitive and helpful in many cases. Naturally, everyone should want this convenience on their smartphone, and thanks to Samsung, we may now have an idea when that will be possible.
In a press release that was speaking on broken sales records, Samsung specifically says that Circle to Search, “will only be available on Samsung and Google devices until September of this year.”
That seems to confirm the exclusivity agreement between Samsung and Google. Only recently did Google begin pushing it to their own phones. In the fine print, something else is noted.
Circle to Search may become available on Android devices from other brands from October 5, 2024, but there are no active developments underway.
As the haters have pointed out, Circle to Search isn’t necessarily groundbreaking tech. Google Lens and Assistant and all of that Google stuff have been able to do what Circle to Search has done for quite some time. However, it’s never been this intuitive and I’d urge those people to go touch grass. My point is, I’m not entirely sure how much effort it would take for any Android OEM to incorporate Circle to Search into their builds. Maybe it’s a lot and I don’t anything, but I really doubt that’s the case. Regardless, just because Samsung says no one else is working on it, doesn’t mean that’s a bad thing or even necessarily true.
In the meantime, Google and Samsung users living the good life. Circle everything.
