Google’s Circle to Search has been constantly improving, and this time, a new set of enhancements has been added to Circle to Search. These include Music recognition, QR code and barcode scanner, and other new Android features such as Gemini support in Android TalkBack.
As posted by Android’s X account, Circle to Search can scan barcodes and QR codes that appear on your screen. To check where a QR code or barcode redirects you and what purpose it serves, activate Circle to Search whenever you see one.
Aside from that, Google detailed new features coming to Android, including Music recognition support in Circle to Search. “Whether it’s a song playing on social media from your phone or music that’s playing from speakers near you, just long-press the Home button or the navigation bar to activate Circle to Search, then tap the music button to identify the track name, artist and even open a YouTube video to explore more,” said Google.
Next, TalkBack in Android, which serves as the screen reader for the operating system, will now make digital images even more accessible with detailed audio descriptions powered by Gemini models on supported devices. Whether you’re looking at online product images, photos in your camera roll, pictures in text messages or images of what’s happening on social media, TalkBack powered by Gemini will provide you with a detailed description of these images.
Read More: Google’s Circle to Search Gains a Nifty New “Share” Feature
Then, in Chrome, you can now listen to Pages and even set a preferred listening speed, type of voice, and language. Furthermore, the Android Earthquake Alerts System is expanding to all U.S. states and six territories. With crowd-sourced earthquake detection technology, Google has extended the reach of alerts to provide potentially life-saving warnings seconds before shaking starts, says the company.
Finally, Wear OS is also receiving offline Google Maps support. When you download a map to your phone, you can also access it from Google Maps on your watch. And with two new shortcuts in Google Maps, you can now search for destinations using your voice when you’re back online or view your location on the map with a tap on your watch face.