Remember Goggles? ile it hasn’t seen an update since 2014, the app (which is still able to be downloaded in the ay Store) is a way to search the world by using your camera. But a feature uncovered deep in a beta version of the app seems to indicate that hasn’t forgotten about it.
In the latest version of the app beta, 9to5 has discovered an option for Visual Search that will live in the sidebar. Selecting it brings up an interface that lets you snap a photo select the portion of it that you want to search. Then it will show a series of cards related to your results. In the example 9to5 provided, a search of a Motorola box returned Motorola phones, Motorola Mobility, itself.
On a related note, is also adding support for saved images inside the app. eviously available by going to the images tab of the in-app Chrome browser selecting the View Saved button in the bottom corner, the new shortcut will let you see any images you’ve saved using the same Saved Items Tags tabs.
Neither of these features are live yet in the current beta version of the app, it’s unclear when (or if) they might show up.
The big picture: th adding Assistant to all Marshmallow Nougat phones doing away with the Now uncher, the app might be gaining a bit more prominence on our phones. And while it may be a ways off, by promoting its picture search tech to its main search app we could be inching closer to the day when we simply hold up our phones ask, “OK , what’s that,” get an answer.
