Skip to main content

Google Lens is now available as a stand-alone app or inside Google Camera

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

If you’re looking for an easier way to access Google Lens, look no further than the new shortcut app now available in the Google Play Store and, for Pixel and Nexus Devices, the Google Camera app. The stand-alone app allows folks to take advantage of the relatively new feature, even if your existing Android device doesn’t offer built-in functionality. (The LG G7, for example, has a dedicated button on the handset that lets you go straight to Google Lens.) With the new Lens app, you will be able to access the same functionality as you would otherwise — and you can still access Lens via Google Assistant. After launching the Google Lens stand-alone app earlier this month, Google is now rolling out a Lens mode inside the Google Camera app.

Google Lens, which made its initial debut at Google’s I/O 2017 event, lets you extract text and hyperlinks from images, and can also identify a number of landmarks around the world. It first became available to Google Pixel phones at the end of 2017, and then was launched across all Android phones in March. On March 16, it finally made its way to iOS users, too.

More recently, Google announced a few updates to Lens that make it more useful still. At I/O 2018, the tech giant revealed that Google Lens is now built into the camera app on phones from 10 manufacturers: LG, Motorola, Xiaomi, Sony, Nokia, Transsion, TCL, OnePlus, BQ, and Asus. And when you open the camera app on one of these phone makers’ handsets, you will be able to point your camera at an object and find similar products. So if you see a dress you like, you can get Google Lens to show you the same or a similar garment, and if it’s available, buy it directly through Google Shopping. There is also Smart Text Selection, which allows you to point your camera at a chunk of text and then copy it, translate it, or send it to someone.

The latest Lens integration to roll out, previously announced at I/O 2018, is a Lens mode inside Google Camera on Pixel and Nexus devices. The smart camera is found alongside the app’s other camera modes like portrait mode. With the update, it’s now possible to find Lens in a stand-alone app, inside Google Assistant, Google Photos, and now, Google Camera.

With all of this functionality, it’s no wonder that folks are looking for easier ways to access the feature. However, we should point out that even though Google Lens is now a stand-alone app and integrated into a handful of others, it’s not necessarily compatible with all Android devices. For example, while it will work with the Samsung Note 8, it won’t play as nicely with the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus. Other users have noted that the app doesn’t work on the Moto Z Play, Nokia 7 Plus, and the Xiaomi Mi A1. You’ll have to be running Android Marshmallow and above in order to access the app.

Updated on June 26: Add integration with Google Camera.

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Google overhauls its Family Link app for easier parental controls
Google Family Link app.

Google's Family Link app has been a great resource for parents looking to keep an eye on what their children are up to with their devices. Now, it's getting even better thanks to an app overhaul that puts the focus on safety and communication. While the Google Family Link app has previously been praised for its solid parental control settings, the redesign adds plenty of new features that make it easier than ever for parents to monitor smart device usage while keeping children informed about the parental control settings in place.

In addition to a design update that sorts the app into three main tabs (Highlights, Controls, and Location), there's also a laundry list of new features coming to Family Link. Since safety is a huge part of what makes the app appealing, features such as notification alerts when a device arrives at a specific destination (like school or a friend's house) and the ability to see an individual device's battery life are new additions that give parents peace of mind when their kids leave the house.

Read more
This new Google Lens feature looks like it’s straight out of a sci-fi movie
google lens ar translate news  2

Google has introduced AR Translate as part of a trio of updates for Google Lens that are aimed at taking image translation further into the future. The company held a demonstration at the Google Search On 2022 conference on Wednesday to show that AR Translate can use AI to make images featuring a foreign language look more natural after text is translated to another language.

Currently, any text that's converted into a different language uses colored blocks to mask bits of the background image. AR Translate better preserves the image by removing the blocks and just swapping the text outright to make the translated image look as though it was the original photo.

Read more
Google wants you to know Android apps aren’t just for phones anymore
Person holding Samsung Galaxy smartphone showing Google Play Store.

When most people think of the Google Play Store, the first thing that comes to mind is smartphones. However, the spread of the Android ecosystem is far broader than that, and Google is taking steps to increase awareness of this and make it easier for folks to find apps on the Play Store for their smart TVs, watches, and even cars.

In a blog post today, the Google Play team announced three significant changes that should make it easier for Android fans to discover apps for all their devices, right from their phone. This includes recommendations of apps for non-phone devices, a search filter to focus on only games optimized for non-phone devices, and even a remote install feature that will let you deliver those apps to your Android TV, Wear OS watch, or Android Automotive-equipped car.

Read more