Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is working on bringing barcode support to Circle to Search.
- Code referencing the feature was found in the beta version of the Google app.
Circle to Search was first introduced in January, along with the launch of the Galaxy S24 series. While the feature is helpful for searching for whatever you need at the moment, it still has room to grow. For example, if you use Circle to Search for a barcode, it will just present you with other barcodes instead of reading them. However, that could change in the near future.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
While investigating the latest beta of the Google app, we stumbled upon code suggesting Circle to Search could gain barcode support. The code was discovered in version 15.19.45.29.arm64 beta and reads:
Code
<string name="omnient_1d_barcode_action">Search this barcode</string>You’ll notice the string has the word “omnient” right before “barcode_action.” Omnient is known to be the internal codename for Circle to Search.
Seeing as the current version of the feature is incapable of reading barcodes, this will be a nice addition to its growing set of functions. It’s unknown if/when Google will roll out the capability.
