Google Photos now lets you search for, copy/paste text in photos

Google Photos update - Google Photos app on Google Pixel smartphone
Google has quietly added more optical character recognition (OCR) functionality to Google Photos, essentially allowing users to search for text within photos. The improved OCR tech also lets you copy/paste said text in photos.
The new capabilities were confirmed by the Google Photos Twitter account after a user spotted it (h/t: 9to5Google). The search feature is currently available on smartphones and the web, accessible by typing a search query in the search bar. So simply searching for “beef stew” will result in a picture of a food menu popping up if “beef stew” is indeed listed on the menu.
Google Photos is also taking it a step further, allowing users to copy text from their stored photos with the aid of Google Lens and pasting it anywhere else (seen above). You can use the copy/paste functionality via the instructions below:
  1. Launch Google Photos on your Android phone
  2. Navigate to a desired image
  3. Tap the Google Lens icon
  4. Highlight the desired text you wish to copy
  5. Choose “copy” and copy it at your destination (e.g. WhatsApp chat, email message etc)
Both features are rather cool, and could make life much easier for users around the world. This could be handy if you’ve got a photo of your gran’s handwritten recipe, for example. You should now be able to search for the recipe as well as copy/paste the recipe to send it to loved ones.
We’ve got the feature on our Android phone without updating to the latest version of Photos, so you might be seeing it too. Nevertheless, you can grab the latest update via the button below anyway.
DOWNLOAD GOOGLE PHOTOS

Recent Google Photos updates

Say hello to dark mode

June 5, 2019: Google has quietly brought dark mode to Google Photos (spotted by XDA-Developers), reportedly landing in version 4.17.0.249919200. However, it’s unclear whether this was a server-side change on Google’s part or if you’ll need to update to this particular version. At the time of the news, we updated to this version and didn’t see the option. This isn’t an OLED-friendly dark mode though, but is a dark grey instead,.

A new gallery view

April 23, 2019: The latest update for Google Photos has added a new gallery view that helps users see which photos and videos have not yet been backed up. Users can then manually select which photos to back up, which will be helpful for those who don’t have auto-backup turned on.
Unfortunately, it appears as though Google has removed a useful existing feature at the same time. The search giant has removed the ability to browse your entire library in yearly view. Comfortable and day view are still live, but further pinching and zooming fails to bring up yearly view. Android Policefound that the feature actually last appeared in V4.10, but we’re now at V4.14 and it has yet to be reinstated. Boo.

Auto-crop for documents

March 28, 2019: Google is rolling out a new auto-cropping feature to Google Photos on Android. The app will determine when you are viewing a photo of a document and then suggest you use the new auto-cropping tool.
The tool will also automatically rotate the image if necessary and also brighten it up a bit for clarity. These adjustments happen automatically — all you need to do is tap a button for each category. This new feature is rolling out this week.

Express backup

March 19, 2019: Google is offering a new backup option in Google Photos called Express backup that provides faster backup at a reduced resolution, making it easier to ensure your photos are backed up even when you might have poor or infrequent Wi-Fi connectivity.
The company began offering this new backup option to a small percentage of people using Google Photos on Android in India last December and over the past week, it has started rolling out Express backup to more users in India. By the end of the week, Android users on the latest version of Google Photos should start seeing it as an option for backup. Google has shared that the company will bring Express backup to dozens of other countries, rolling out slowly.

Live Albums

October 11, 2018: Google is rolling out a new feature for Google Photos called Live Albums. The new Live Albums feature allows you to create photo collections on-the-fly using the power of Google Assistant. All you have to do is make a new album within Google Photos and then select the people you would like to appear in that album. Google Assistant will then create a photo collection for you.
The Live Album you create can then get displayed on either your new Google Home Hub, or on your Google Pixel 3 when you dock it on the Pixel Stand. Conversely, you can share or edit the album just like you would any other, manually-created photo album.

Google Photos 4.0 redesign with Material Design

September 6, 2018: The Google Photos 4.0 redesign with Material Design is rolling out to everyone. Along with a Google Photos Material Design theme, the app also gets a new swipe gesture that should make your life a bit easier when you’re looking for photo info.
The refreshed Google Photos Android app functions in much the same way as it did before, but with Google Photos 4.0, everything has a sleeker, more rounded look. There’s also a new swipe gesture included in the app. When you’re looking at a photo, you can swipe from the bottom up and you’ll easily see the information for that photo (device info, storage location, GPS coordinates where it was taken, etc.).

Love Story video theme

June 25, 2018: Google Photos now includes a new Love Story video theme. The theme automatically makes a movie with pictures and videos of yourself and your significant other. The inclusion of Love Story brings the total number of themes to 10.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Linktree’s free workaround lets you add multiple links to your Instagram bio

Image
Instagram only gives you one opportunity to link to outside resources inside its photo sharing platform. This might not be a problem for a majority of the users, but for those wanting a little more customization and even more options, it leaves much to be desired. Enter  Linktree , a free tool for Instagram designed to improve traffic to your outside link, be it a blog, portfolio, or store. How it works is fairly straightforward. After connecting Linktree to your Instagram profile, you’ll receive a single link to place in your Instagram bio. Once that link in place, you can customize what it’s linked to within your browser, be it a single website, or a collection of sites you’re looking to direct followers to Say you’re a photographer who’s using Instagram as a marketing tool for your wedding photography. Using Linktree, you can direct Instagram followers to your blog, your portfolio site, and even your other social media accounts. Until now, you would’ve been stuck choosing b
Read more

EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE PIXEL 4, THE MOST-LEAKED PHONE EVER

Image
Google’s  Pixel 3 might have been the  most-leaked phone in history . Long before its unveiling, we knew practically everything about it from unboxing videos, photo comparisons, even a full review of the device. Surely, for the Pixel 4, Google would clamp down on leaks to leave some surprises for its debut on  October 15th , right? Let’s just say, if that was the plan, it didn’t exactly work out. We’ve now seen the Pixel 4 XL from every angle and in three different colors. At least seven different sources have touched this phone, many of them confirming the same specs. We not only know which cameras it’ll have, but also what they may be capable of, including air gestures (go figure). That doesn’t even count information Google has already shared  on purpose. So if you want to know almost everything about the Pixel 4 nearly a month before it’s announced, buckle up. We’ve sifted through all of the rumors and information we can find to compile everything we know — and everything we
Read more

Our favorite iOS apps for the iPhone and iPad in 2018

Image
As 2018 comes to a close, it’s time to look at some our favorite apps of the year. While not all of these are brand new, many of them popped up onto our radar for the first time in 2018, and are definitely worth the attention. Others are some of our favorites that are still best-in-class despite having been around for some time now. We aim to do things differently at TNW, and as such you’re not going to find the recommendations you’re probably used to seeing: Gmail, Skype, Dropbox, and the like. Instead, we want to focus on the best-of-the-best that you may not have heard of, and others that are just special enough to warrant a mention. As always, we’d encourage you to share some of your favorites in the comments below, or on Facebook. Enlight Pixaloop (Free Pixaloop  is one of my favorite apps on the market. Unlike typical image editors that allow you to remove red eye or apply a filter, Pixaloop allows you to create stunning photo animations with a few clicks on your
Read more