Google Lens AI features landing on default camera apps

Google is all about AI these days, much to the concern of some in the tech industry. But while the hotly debated Duplex call is, in away, the pinnacle of its AI ambitions, there are other places where Google is making AI shine. One of those, of course, is Google Lens and its ability to not just see but also "understand" the world around you. Now two of its newest features, Style Match and Smart Text Selection, are rolling out. And, even better, they're rolling out to default camera apps on Android phones.

Before this, Google Lens pretty much existed as part of Google Photos and Google Assistant and, somewhat exclusively, in the Pixel phones' camera apps. That meant that everyone who didn't own a Pixel had to take extra steps to utilize Google Lens' functionality. That or resort to other third-party or services (cough Bixby).

At the recent Google I/O, the company announced that it was making Google Lens available on the native camera apps of OEM smartphones. This meant that they no longer to switch away from their default and perhaps preferred camera app. And neither will OEMs be losing out on the use of their app in favor of Google's or someone else's.

According to Engadget, Google Lens is now available on some, not all, smartphones from LG, Motorola, Xiaomi, Sony, Nokia, OnePlus, and ASUS, among others. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Samsung wasn't mentioned. That's probably because the Korean OEM is pushing its own Bixby Vision counterpart to Google Lens.

In addition to the wider rollout, Google Lens will soon be getting the mentioned two new features. Not just a fashion feature, Style Match will search online for things that match a real-world object's style or design. Smart Text Selection, as the name says, lets you actually "extract" words in the camera's viewfinder and translate them in real-time.