We've known for several weeks that Lens was coming to Google Assistant on Pixel phones and it's already landed on a limited number of devices. Starting today in select markets, however, it's rolling out to the masses. Phones set to English in a handful of countries (US, UK, Australia, Canada, India and Singapore) should start seeing the update and the Lens icon will now be on the bottom right in Google Assistant.
Tapping the Lens button will prompt users to grant access to the camera, which only happens the first time it's used, and then a tap on the screen will have lens try to identify whatever is on it. This is a big step from earlier functionality, where a picture had to first be taken and then Lens lived inside the Google Photos app. We can finally use it in real time.
Lens can do a lot of things, such as specify a breed of dog or type of plant just by looking at it. It can also identify storefronts and provide additional information and reviews about the business. It can scan barcodes, identify an address and pull it up on Google Maps, and so on.
If you'd like to see our quick guide on using Google Lens, you can check it out here. It's exciting to see it become part of Google Assistant and it will only get better as it continues to evolve.
Source: Android Police
