C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Circle to Search makes it incredibly easy to look up basically anything you see on your phone screen.
- So far, though, in landscape mode Circle to Search would often cover up the area you circled.
- Google has now started delivering results in a floating card that can be offset to the side in landscape view.
What’s your favorite new Android feature of the past couple years? While we’re hugely impressed with what Google’s managed to do with Gemini, especially in terms of tools like NotebookLM and its Audio Overviews, the one we get the most day-to-day use out of has got to be Circle to Search. While Google Lens was a fine idea, the effortless accessibility of Circle to Search has really transformed the way we look things up with our phones. And now our beloved tool is getting even better.
Whether we’re talking about an app or part of the system UI, software on Android needs to be flexible when it comes to the display. After all, Android devices support screens of all shapes and sizes, and software should look good and feel natural across all of them. With Circle to Search, however, it’s felt like Google hadn’t really optimized things for when you’re using hardware in a landscape orientation.
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
The problem is that Circle to Search would always present its analysis in this card poking up from the center of the screen bottom. And while that tends to work just fine in portrait, when we’re dealing especially with smaller phone screens, there’s a fair chance that in landscape mode that card is going to end up obscuring the screen content we originally circled.
That’s not necessarily the end of the world, and we still see that thumbnail in the Search bar, but it should not surprise you at all to learn that there is a better way of doing things.
At some point recently, Google flipped the switch on a new layout for Circle to Search in landscape, with a much smarter approach to handling layout. When space permits, you’ll now see your results in a floating card that’s positioned off to the side, flanking the area you circled.
While that’s most pronounced on tablet-sized screens, even on smaller smartphones, this definitely feels better than what we had before. But we like it maybe best of all when it comes to foldables:
Google showed off the new Circle to Search look in action yesterday when helping Samsung promote its new launches, and this interface is just a prefect fit for the Fold 7. Have you noticed it on any of your own devices yet? Any landscape fans in the house? Share your opinions down in the comments.
