Google Lens, Google’s image recognition technology, has had its own standalone app since 2018, and new features continue to be added. This week, Google added the ability to quickly copy and paste handwritten notes from your phone to a PC.
As Lou Wang, Group Product Manager, Google Lens and AR, explains on The Keyword blog, “You can already use Lens to quickly copy and paste text from paper notes and documents to your phone to save time. Now, when you select text with Lens, you can tap “copy to computer” to quickly paste it on another signed-in device with Chrome.” The handwritten notes are converted to text and appear almost instantly on the selected device. It acts as a very easy way to “backup” your on-paper thoughts.
In order for this new feature to work, you’ll need to ensure the latest version of Chrome is installed on both devices. If you own an Android phone, then the Google Lens app is required, but for iOS you’ll need the Google app installed, which includes access to Lens.
Other new features added to Google Lens include the ability to listen to words and phrases spoken in a different language. This is especially helpful for someone trying to learn a new language, of which, Lens already supports over 100. To hear a word or phrase, simply select the text with Lens and tap the Listen button. Finally, there’s a new word and phrase discovery feature. If you spot a word or phrase you don’t understand, use Lens to select it and perform a Google Search to find out what it means.
Android users can take advantage of these new Google Lens features from today, but iOS users will be kept waiting a little longer for them to roll out.