Launching Circle to Search Using Gesture Navigation Can Be Frustrating

Circle to Search is a useful feature and its implementation as a successor to Now on Tap is something Google should have kept exclusive to Android for a while longer instead of entrusting it to Assistant. However, the method of launching it with gesture navigation is quite annoying. I had concerns when I discovered that enabling Circle to Search is done by tapping the nav bar icon. The handle is very small and not an ideal target. After using it for some time, I have found that I don’t miss the gesture bar but I often unintentionally launch the Recents menu. It feels like my finger is slightly pulling up from the bottom of the screen before making contact, but this is enough to exit the current app and enter multitasking. This navigation is reliant on the current Android system. Although I can easily go back, the frequency of this occurrence is irritating. Circle to Search appears to have been designed at a time when three-button navigation was the norm, and it has remained unchanged on Samsung devices. It is odd that Google has allowed Circle to Search to replace the home button for the Assistant, even on Samsung devices. This seems like a significant change that indicates a decline in the functionality of the voice assistant. At present, my preferred option is to assign one of the diagonal swipes for Circle to Search, while reserving the other for Assistant. This is my personal preference, but Google does not seem to endorse it or even acknowledge it. Instead, the company expects users to open Assistant by holding down the power button or using “Hey Google”. I am not a fan of physically launching the Assistant and believe that Google needs to provide prominent buttons if it wants to enforce this method. Nevertheless, Circle to Search remains useful, particularly for tasks like text copying and character recognition. The actual feature is intriguing, and it works well, including the ability to relocate the search. This should be the initial approach. I hope to become accustomed to launching it using gesture navigation, but I also hope that Google will reconsider this approach because Circle to Search has been beneficial for a long time. FTC: We use affiliate links to make money. More information.

Author: OpenAI