Google's Circle to Search arrives on Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8 by the end of January

Of the many AI-powered chops Samsung unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked, Google's "Circle to Search" was undoubtedly one of the most impressive. It lets you look up information about an image (or text by) circling, tapping, or highlighting parts of it. The feature was supposed to remain exclusive to the Galaxy S24 series, but not for long.

Google's blog post says Circle to Search will come to "select premium Android smartphones" on January 31. Unfortunately, there is no list of phones mentioned nor a way to determine what qualifies as "premium" in Google's eyes. It could be high-end phones launched in the past year or two, as Circle to Search is highly dependent on AI chops, for which an NPU will be necessary. The Galaxy S23, Galaxy Tab S9 series, Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5 seem like likely candidates because Samsung confirmed all Galaxy AI features would arrive on older Galaxy devices later in the year.

However, a post on Google's official X (fka Twitter) handle is worded in a way that says it arrives only on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro ($799 on Amazon). Google also hasn't revealed the list of supported languages and regions. To get started with Circle to Search, one needs to long press the Home button/navigation bar (a gesture that usually brings up the Google Assistant) on the Pixel 8 and highlight the text/image you need more information about.