Since the introduction of Circle to Search (CtS), Google Lens’ uniqueness has suffered. Google appears to be repositioning Lens as a specialized tool for real-world visual searches because the latter, which has replaced Lens’ on-screen context capabilities, has rendered some of Lens’ prior features obsolete.
Google has indicated that Lens’ core use case is changing, with CtS now handling questions pertaining to on-device context or content. For example, in the past, your gallery view dominated the page when you triggered Google Lens via the tool’s dedicated app, the Google app widget, or even from Google.com straight from your mobile browser. Eight of your most recent screenshots were displayed on the website, along with pictures from your collection and a little live camera sample at the top.
Its full-screen user interface was accessed by touching or swiping down on the live preview, which effectively let you “search with your camera.” However, 9to5Google was the first to notice that this is now your default Google Lens view.
Lens’s gallery search still exists, however it is less noticeable
The gallery view has been reduced to a tiny, circular preview of the most recent picture taken in the corner when launching Google Lens from any of its different gateways. Instead, the full-screen camera view is now displayed by default. As an alternative, you can swipe up anywhere on the live preview to visit your gallery, which is basically a switcheroo of the app’s layout.
The update also includes a minor design change elsewhere. Instead of looking like a “squircle,” the preview of the latest captured image or gallery shortcut now appears in a circular manner.
This comes shortly after Google started experimenting with video search for participants in Search Labs using Google Lens.
