Google’s new feature helps you discover more through Image Search

By Brenda Stolyar Published August 1, 2017

Google is now making it easier to find more information through your mobile image search results. The company announced that as of Tuesday, your image search results include icons in the corner of the photos indicating more information.

The new feature is specifically meant to help users discover more through their search results and suggest actions they can take. For instance, if you search for cupcakes in Image Search some of your results will include a badge in the bottom-left corner for recipes, videos, and GIFs, among other results.

Recommended Videos

Last week, eBay announced a slightly similar update to its mobile app that also expands the use of image-based search. Rolling out in the fall, users will be able to find and purchase items through eBay using pictures instead of words.

The eBay app uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to find any item you search for. If you’re out on the go and spot a pair of shoes you are interested in but don’t know the exact name, you can take a photo and upload it to the eBay app. The features will apparently be able to match you with the exact product along with similar items.

By adding new features to its search tools, eBay and Google are essentially keeping users from leaving its platforms. After searching for and finding an item through eBay, you can then purchase it straight from the app. With Google’s new badges, the feature eliminates having to click through to another page — by simply tapping on the badge, you can pull up more in-depth information without losing your place within the results.

Google has clearly been busy updating its apps — on Monday, the company unveiled new features for the Gboard app on iOS. The iOS version integrates the Maps and YouTube apps into the keyboard, making it easier to send your location and videos without having to exit the messenger window. Other features include a drawing tool along with additional foreign language options to choose from.

Google’s new badges are available on the Google app for Android along with your mobile web browser. As of now, users will not see the update on their desktop image search.

Staff Writer, Mobile

Brenda became obsessed with technology after receiving her first Dell computer from her grandpa in the second grade. While…

Topics

Mobile

You can now send higher-quality photos in RCS Google Messages chats. Here’s how

Google Messages app on a Pixel 8 Pro, showing an RCS Chat message thread.

Google Messages is one of the most popular messaging platforms on the planet — so popular, in fact, that companies like Samsung and Verizon are doing away with their in-house messaging apps in favor of it. More than 1 billion users engage with Google Messages monthly, and a large part of the experience is RCS. We've been eagerly looking forward to the introduction of quality control when sending photos, a feature first spotted earlier this month.

Now, Google Messages has begun rolling out the "original quality" media-sharing feature, as noted by Android Authority. For now, it's only available in the beta, but that's a firm sign that all users will be receiving it shortly.

Mobile

Google just announced Android 16. Here’s everything new

No, that headline isn't a typo. A little over a month after Android 15 was released to the masses in October, Google has already announced Android 16 and begun rolling out its first developer beta of the newest Android version.

If this seems like a much earlier release than usual, that's because it is. We typically expect the first developer beta of the next Android update to arrive in February. For Android 16, however, Google has pushed the timeline up by a few months and launched Android 16 Developer Preview 1 in mid-November.
Why Android 16 is launching so much earlier

Mobile

Google’s Pixel Weather app just got two new features. Here’s how they work

The Pixel Weather app on a Google Pixel 9.

The Pixel Weather app has been the focus of a lot of attention lately as Google revamps the user experience and adds more features. Now, there's more good news: two of those promised functions — the Pollen count card and immersive vibrations — are newly available, at least for some users.

Thanks to "immersive weather vibrations," the Pixel Weather app vibrates to match the animated backgrounds it displays, with intensity levels that mirror the precipitation amount (because it's not just rainfall), according to 9to5Google. Of course, if you don't like the feature, you can disable it in the account menu.