Google Lens to arrive on all Android smartphones as a feature in the Google Photos app

Google is finally bringing Lens, its visual search engine to all Android devices. Google Lens which was so far restricted to its Pixel range of smartphones will finally see its integration into the Google Photos app.[caption id="attachment_4379663" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Google Lens is able to identify paintings and artwork. Image: Google[/caption]For the uninitiated, Google Lens can identify a number of items we come across daily from artwork to barcodes to even movies, paintings and video games and tell you more about it. For example, if you come across a movie poster and point the camera towards it, Lens will identify the movie and take you straight to its Play Movies catalogue where you can purchase the movie or read up more about it. As explained by XDA Developers in a report, Google Lens essentially leverages Google's huge machine learning platform to try and predict what the user is pointing the camera at.Additionally, Google Lens is also capable of performing a number of tasks based on what it identifies in the image. This includes tasks such as adding contacts from a business card, translating text to a different language, detecting plants and animals to even saving dates to your calendar from a poster.

According to a report by The Verge, flagships from Samsung, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Sony and Nokia will also eventually be able to access Lens through the Google Assistant. The roll-out for that, however, will only happen in batches which suggests that it could take a while.This will be Google's first attempt at expanding Lens which was announced back at Google I/O 2017 and is an improved version of Google Goggles which used to be an image recognition app for Android users. As for iOS users, Google is yet to put a timeline on the arrival of Lens to Google Photos but it will happen with time.