First spotted by 9to5Google, the latest beta version (v13.19) of the Google app for Android brings a key change to Google Lens on tablets. The visual search tool now supports landscape orientation on larger screens. Earlier, it worked only in portrait orientation on all Android devices, including tablets and foldables. According to the new report, Google Lens now has a widescreen UI when used in landscape orientation on tablets. The UI elements are spaced out and all filters fit on the screen when in the live viewfinder. On phones, you have to scroll through a bottom carousel to access all filters. As you’d expect, the results sheet is wider too, allowing more items to fit in. But Google has still left some screen space blank on either edge. The gallery view makes full use of the screen, though. Of course, there’s no major change to the functionality of Google Lens. But this optimization for large screen devices would elevate the user experience on tablets. Since Google Lens resides within the Google app on Android, this change should be available to everyone with an upcoming update for the latter on the stable channel. As the new report notes, the rest of the app, including Assistant, is already optimized for tablets. So don’t expect any changes there.
A similar update will roll out to more Google apps for Android tablets
As said earlier, Google has promised these kinds of optimization for more than 20 first-party apps. We already know How Google Clock and Calculator will look on tablets following the update. These apps should get the update soon. The likes of Google Maps, YouTube Music, Google Messages, Google Play, Gmail, Google Home, Google TV, and Google One will also see similar optimizations in the coming weeks. We will keep you posted. Meanwhile, if you want to test out the changes on Google Lens early, you can now sign up to become a beta tester here. Note that beta versions may be unstable and certain features may not function properly. You can click the button below to download the latest stable version of the Google app from the Play Store. DOWNLOAD GOOGLE
