The Silicon Review ^Asia

Google recently launched an app version of Lens on Play Store. It is a machine learning powered tool which identifies objects captured by a device’s camera that comes integrated into the company’s search engine and virtual assistant. Android users can try Google Lens to do things like create a contact from a business card or even get more info about a product.

Like most apps, this one too amounts to a quick launch icon for Android Devices that do not already have the functionality built in or existing in their system. Upon starting the app, users are directed to a viewfinder that can identify the nearby objects being targeted and analyze them through Lens.

For example, let’s say you capture a picture of a Tropical Pepper Sauce bottle in your kitchen through the Lens App, its algorithm is designed to automatically direct you to the page of the most similar or same product. The app also supports real-time smart text selection that can be useful in copying text from objects in the real world to the shopping tools leading to an improved UI.

This in turn also provides a platform for Google to make the users their de facto beta testers. That’s not it, accompanied with the massive amount of data Google already collects on its users, this app can prove to be a major competitive advantage for them with respect to the digital ad duopoly with Facebook.

The development of this app is still in progress. i.e., even though you can download it, the app is not compatible with all Android devices. For example, it will work on Samsung's Note 8 but not on the S8 Plus. Google, however, has been hyping it for months now while they improve the object recognition skills for prime time and complete this half functional prototype.