Google Lens Gets a Standalone App

Google Lens, the company's bogus intelligence and computer vision-powered visual search tool, is coming to Android.

The Web giant simply launched a standalone Lens app in the Play Store. So, if y'all don't already have Lens on your Android phone, or merely want a quicker way to launch the tool, you tin can download the free app at present. In theory, it works on devices running Android six.0 Marshmallow and up, just The Verge reports that the new standalone Lens app isn't compatible with all Android devices at the moment.

"Information technology will work with Samsung Note 8, but non with the Samsung Milky way S8 Plus," the site noted. "Other users have reported the app non working on Moto Z Play, Nokia 7 Plus, and the Xiaomi Mi A1."

Lens, for the uninitiated, lets yous run web searches via your smartphone'south camera. Only indicate your photographic camera at something and Google's AI-powered algorithms will fetch information virtually information technology.

"Find out what that plant is in your friend's apartment, or what kind of dog you saw in the park," the app's description reads. "Run into an outfit that catches your center? Or a chair that'south perfect for your living room? Find similar clothes, piece of furniture, and abode decor—without having to draw what you're looking for in a search box."

Y'all can besides use Lens to scan popular landmarks to come across their ratings, hours of operation, and history; copy URLs and contact information from a photo or business bill of fare; and look upwards an unfamiliar dish right from a carte to see a photo of it.

The technology launched last October and was initially limited to Pixel phones, but Google earlier this year made information technology available to all English-language Google Photos users on Android and iOS. Plus, concluding month at I/O, Google said Lens would be integrated directly into the camera apps of "supported devices from LGE, Motorola, Xiaomi, Sony Mobile, HMD/Nokia, Transsion, TCL, OnePlus, BQ, Asus," too as the Google Pixel.

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag's expert on fettle and smart home products. Teaching yoga for nearly ten years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected health products including fettle trackers, heart charge per unit monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, forcefulness grooming machines, treadmills, and more. Angela as well tests smart home devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, merely to name a few.