Google continues its mission to refine user experiences and expand its reach across the globe. Recent developments signal significant enhancements to its Circle to Search feature, aimed at reducing accidental touches for smoother navigation.
Additionally, anticipation builds with hints of an imminent launch of Google Wallet in India, poised to complement the existing ecosystem of Google Pay.
Let’s delve into the details of these advancements and their potential impact on users worldwide.
Google Wants to Improve Its Circle to Search Feature by Eliminating Accidental Touches
Google is planning to improve Circle to Search by eliminating the accidental touch issue found with the feature.
Circle to Search was launch in January 2024 with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series as a visual lookup feature where users can circle an image or block of text and the feature recognises what is being highlight and shows Google Search results for it.
But, as per report, some users have complain that the feature activates even when not intended.
The Google is now looking to fix this issue.
In the new episode of Made by Google Podcast, Product Manager Erin Lynch and Director of Product Management Alistair Pott, who work with the team that built Circle to Search, discuss the feature in detail.
During the conversation, they also address the issue that many users have complain about the feature’s activation being too sensitive to touch.
This feature can be trigger by long-pressing the navigation bar or the Home button, and some users have report that despite not trying to activate it, Circle to Search still turns on.
Erin Lynch said :
“We still have further to go, and we’re working a lot on making sure it’s trigger when you want. It’s not triggered when you don’t want.”
But no timeline for the improvement was share.
But, this confirms that the team is indeed working on a fix.
Other interesting information share in the podcast was that Circle to Search utilises the capabilities of Google Lens to perform visual lookup.
As this was rumour to be the case, this is the first time the company has officially confirmed it.
This integration is also set to get better in the future.
Google’s Circle to Search uses artificial intelligence (AI) to process the information display on the screen and then run it through Google Search to show results.
It can be use to explain a particular word or phrase, find out the price of a dress, know more about a famous building, and more.
Google Wallet Play Store Listing Hints at Imminent India Launch, to Work Alongside Google Pay: Report
Google Wallet could soon be launch in India with support for local integrations, as per a report.
The Google recently list the Google Wallet app on the Play Store, with screenshots showing support for Indian banks, airlines and other services that offer loyalty points.
It is currently unavailable to download for users in India via the Google Play store, but users can sideload the app and add bank cards for contactless payments.
This app will reportedly work alongside Google Pay for users in the country.
Google Wallet app on the Play Store with screenshots showing local integrations with SBI, Air India, and PVR Inox.
Google replace the images with US-specific ones after the publication reach out the company, but a cache version of the Play Store listing shows four India-specific screenshots.
It’s currently unclear whether the Google Wallet app will be launch in India in the future, and whether it would coexist alongside the UPI-based Google Pay app in India, which competes with apps like Paytm, PhonePe, BHIM, and Amazon Pay in India.
In its current form, the Google Pay app offers greater functionality to users as it supports both contactless payments on smartphones with NFC support, as well as Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments.
Google could eventually launch the Google Wallet app in India, and it remains to be seen whether the Pay and Wallet apps will be merge, a decision that Google has taken in other countries.
