Imagine a land where collecting something as basic as a quest is much easier and more concise, just by pressing a small circle on your phone. “Cap to Search” – the latest Google feature – allows this to be done in the blink of an eye by simply highlighting some text or item and performing a quick search without leaving the current application. Sounds impressive, right? There’s just one problem: For some reason, it doesn’t work in the notification shade, which is a major drawback of Android usability.
It makes you feel as if Google hasn’t lost the notifications here for the first time. Android users have known about the back gesture for quite some time, and some of them may be well aware that it cannot go back to the notification panel. Remember that they have made a violation to avoid quick settings which is a quick area to avoid notifications because no updates are allowed.
Information is important. They make sure we are aware, yet connected, and our shipment is delivered. When it comes to the focal point, there are careful circles to find and soon losing the chance to perform there can seem like a big missed village. Try considering how you could enrich your information experience by simply circling a news headline or a new product – away from the many app switches that might distract you.
Here’s the kicker: This isn’t new to Pixels but to Google phones. I was hoping that Samsung’s new models would have the circle-to-search feature that I used to see in notifications but sadly, it’s absent. This reflects an ongoing problem for Android users who often prefer the experience across iOS devices due to the similarity in their user interfaces.
Although it is possible to provide information in Google these days (such as the new History feature), improvements to Google may have to be postponed. Hopefully, Google will prioritize this issue and let us bring the power of Circle Search where it belongs: the notification bar, the notification center we all rely on.
