What you need to know
- A look at the APK offers a first look at Google's plans to integrate Pixel Screenshots into Circle to Search.
- After highlighting an area, users can “save” a photo to Pixel Screenshots to return to later and take advantage of Gemini’s capabilities to rediscover it.
- The Pixel Screenshots app debuted alongside several more Pixel 9 AI features, including Call Notes and Gemini Live.
Google could continue to iterate on Circle to Search by implementing an AI-powered feature that debuted recently.
An APK teardown by Android Authority shows that Google is reportedly working on integrating Pixel screenshots into Circle to searchAs shown in The demonstrationWhen highlighting a portion of the screen, users will find a new “Save” button in the row of options above the selected area.
It looks like Google will show a splash screen when users press that button for the first time. The company claims that saving what has been circled will help “remember what you’re encountering.” It adds that “the highlighted section of the screen will be saved in screenshots.” This refers to Pixel Screenshots, as attempting to view the photo takes you to the app and the image in question.
Users can add a note about the screenshot or share it along with information about when it was taken.
The integration was spotted in the latest beta version of the Google app (15.32.37.29.arm64). It is not known when it will be implemented, despite how advanced development seems to be.
Another aspect of this integration is the text box that appears beneath a saved screenshot from Circle to Search that says “Processing paused.” It explains that the screenshot taken is not “AI-enabled” and informs the user that they need to do so in their settings to take advantage of Gemini’s intelligence.
This is where the rediscovery side of Circle to Search’s Pixel Screenshot implementation comes into play.
After the Pixel 9, a cool feature was Pixel Screenshots and how Google is increasing the usefulness of such images. In addition to automatic organization, the feature leverages Gemini’s artificial intelligence to process and understand the information available in a photo. Additionally, users can refer to something Gemini-specific in the screenshot for help.
In other cases, the app will recognize where a screenshot was taken (such as Google Maps) and ask the user if they want to investigate it.
This was one of the few Pixel 9 Gemini-exclusive features which Google detailed during its event last week. Gemini Live was the other side of the coin: a conversational variant of the model that helps users understand a wide range of topics. Gemini’s new overlay brings text-to-image generation to more places like Messages and Gmail.
