Circle to Search expands to Honor phones, ending Samsung and Pixel exclusivity
Honor has confirmed that Circle to Search will be rolled out to two of its most popular smartphones, the Honor Magic V3 and Honor 200 Pro, in the coming months, marking an end to the feature’s exclusivity for Samsung and Google Pixel phones.
The AI-powered Google tool – which lets users search the web for anything they see on their phone screen with a simple circle, scribble or tap – debuted on the Samsung Galaxy S24 series in January, before trickling down to the Google Pixel 8 line in February. Google then expanded Circle to Search to mid-range Samsung and Galaxy phones in August.
The feature is now available on the foldable Honor Magic V3, although Honor 200 Pro owners will have to wait until “later this year” for access. A recent tip hinted that Circle to Search could also be coming to the Tecno Phantom V Fold 2 soon, so it’s safe to expect that flagship devices from a variety of manufacturers – think OnePlus, Xiaomi, Motorola, and so on – could benefit from this as well from Google’s innovative search function in the near future.
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This is a big problem for Honor. The top Honor phones are among the best phones on sale in the UK and Europe, but despite their class-leading hardware, the company’s flagship devices have arguably lagged behind their flagship Android counterparts in terms of software.
That’s not to say Honor’s mobile software is outright bad – the company’s AI-powered camera modes are among the most interesting on the market, and the Magic Portal feature is similarly impressive – but Honor’s Magic OS operating system is certainly a proved to be a more idiosyncratic beast than, for example, the standard Android interface you find on the best Pixel phones.
The addition of Circle to Search to Magic OS brings a reassuring dose of familiarity to the best Honor phones, and with Honor’s Magic Capsule tool already mimicking Apple’s Dynamic Island, devices like the Honor Magic V3 now offer a powerful mix of Android and iOS-like features; perhaps the best of both worlds.
As for Google, this latest expansion of Circle to Search brings the company one step closer to achieving its internal goal of adding the feature to 200 million phones by the end of 2024. iPhones next, Google? Pigs can fly.