Google has released a new update to the Lens app that allows users, among other things, to copy handwritten texts directly to another device. With the update, Lens can now also display search results and speak texts.
Lens uses Chrome to copy to an external device. When users select text in Lens, they are given the option to ‘Copy to computer’. When selecting this, they will see a notification in the app to which device the text has been forwarded. In that device, users can paste the text in Chrome.
Google gives the example of a user who selects handwritten minutes via the Lens app and sends them to a Pixelbook. In Chrome, this user opens a Google Docs file, into which the text is pasted. This feature requires users to be signed in with the same Google account on both devices, requires the latest Chrome version, and requires the user to have clean handwriting.
With the Lens update, Chrome can now speak words as well. When someone selects text via the app, they will see the ‘Listen’ function. According to Google, this is useful in situations where a user is trying to read a new language and encounters a word where the pronunciation is not clear.
The latest new addition is Google search results, which allows a user to see the first few search results about a word or text in the app. In this way, users can look up a new word or an unclear sentence, without having to leave the app.
The features are now available for the Android and iOS apps. Only the Listen function is not yet active on the iOS version; this function will follow at a ‘later’ moment.