Google Lens is an AI-powered technology that not only senses an object in front of the camera lens but recognises this and provides acts such as scanning, translation, shopping, and more with your smartphone camera and deep machine learning.
In 2017, Google Lens was one of Google’s most significant announcements, but it was a Google Pixel exclusive feature when the phone launched. Since then, most Android devices have been reached through Google Lens – if you don’t have it, the app is available for download on Google Play.
What is Google Lens? And How it works?
Google Lens allows you to point at something like a particular object on your phone and then ask Google Assistant what the thing you’re pointing at is. Not only will you be told the answer, but in the case of a violin, you will get suggestions based on the object, like a nearby musician.
Other examples of what Google Lens can do include being able to take a photo of a Wi-Fi router’s SSID sticker on the back, after which your phone can connect to the Wi-Fi network automatically without you having to do anything else. Yep, there’s no more creeping under the cupboard to read your password as you type it on your tablet. Now, you can point and shoot using Google Lens.
Restaurants, clubs, cafes, and bars will also be recognized by Google Lens, presenting you with a pop-up window showing reviews, address details and opening times. What’s impressive is the ability to recognize everyday objects. A hand will be recognized, and the thumbs up emoji will be suggested, which is a bit of fun but point it to a drink, and it will try and figure out what it is.
With a glass of red wine, this functionality was tested. It didn’t recommend red wine to us, but it proposed a whole host of other alcoholic beverages, encouraging you to tap in and see what they are, how to make them, and so on. This shows that, while Lens is smart and quick, but it’s not always precise.
Certain Ways Google Lens Can Make your Life Easier
Acting as a search engine for the real world, Google Lens is best represented. It uses artificial intelligence from your phone camera to recognize text and objects both inside photos and in a live view. It then allows you to learn about and communicate in all kinds of fascinating ways with those components. But while the ability of Lens to, say, recognize an instrument, look up a book, or provide you with knowledge about a landmark is undoubtedly remarkable. It is the more mundane-seeming efficiency forces of the machine that are far more likely to find a place in your everyday life.
So, grab the nearest Android gadget; if you haven’t already, install the Google Lens app and get ready to show your phone some brilliantly useful new tricks.
Text to Copy from The Real World
The most potent power of Google Lens, and the one on which I rely most often, is its ability to grab text from a physical document, a file, a book, a whiteboard, or something else with words on it, and then copy that text to the clipboard of your computer. You can quickly paste the text from there into a Google Doc, a note, an email, a chat with Slack, or anywhere else imaginable.
Calendar Event
Anytime you see anything with a date involved, a flyer, a billboard, an appointment card, or even a physical invitation to the weekly canasta game of your beloved cousin, save yourself the hassle of typing the details into your digital calendar. And open the Google Lens app instead.
Shoot at the paper on your phone’s camera, and then tap on the date. At the beginning of its bottom-panel choices, Lens should give you a “Create calendar event option”, and tapping it will beam the details right over to your favourite calendar app so that you can tweak it and save as needed.
Translate the Real-World Text
If you find yourself looking at a sign in another language in some theoretical future where travel is regular again and wondering what it says in the world, note that the Google Lens app has a translation function built-in. Open the app to find it, aim your phone at the email, and tap the translate button, the circle on the far left of the bottom row with an ‘A’ within it.
The lens can substitute the words on your computer with their English equivalents (or with a translation in whatever language you choose if English is not your tasse de thé) before you know it. This makes it a powerful feature on your mobile phone.
Detect Animals, Flowers, Sculptures, and Much More
Google Lens is also excellent at recognizing flowers, animals, famous paintings, and many other items, such as landmarks. So, consider using Google Lens to find out what it is next time you’re out for a walk and you come across an unfamiliar herb. To find what it is, you can simply point your camera at the flower, animal (or object). I find it easier to click an image of it and use the Google Lens feature inside Google Images if that doesn’t work (sometimes it doesn’t). Yeah, Lens is a little finicky right now, but we’re going to give it some time to learn more about the environment.
Access Restaurant Reviews and Ratings Easily
This is a nice little trick that you can use, especially if you’re in a new city and don’t know the local hotspots—wondering if you can eat at a specific restaurant for lunch? Point your phone to the restaurant’s logo, and it will show you a set of Google reviews instantly that will help you determine whether you should stay or continue your search. You will have access to a few additional choices from here, including the ability to open the restaurant’s page on Google Maps easily. You can also review the “menu highlights” of the restaurant this way to see if something looks nice to you.