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Google is rolling out a few new features for Chrome on iOS, the company announced on Tuesday. Most notably, Google Chrome on iOS now lets you search using images and text at the same time.
While you could already do this using the Google Lens iOS app, you can now do so directly within the Chrome app. Plus, although you could already use images to search on Chrome on iOS, you can now add text to your queries.
Google says the new feature lets you conduct more complex and specific searches for better results. For instance, you can either capture or upload an image of a green dress, and then add the text “purple” to ask Google to find the item in a color you want. Or, you could take a picture of your Rosemary plant and then add the query “care instructions.”
Image Credits:Google
The launch comes as Apple is bringing its own smart search tool, called Visual Intelligence, to the iPhone 16 series. Visual Intelligence is basically reverse image search combined with text recognition.
Google also announced that users can now free up space on their iPhones by saving files and pictures from the web to Drive and Photos directly from Chrome on iOS. You just have to select the “Google Drive” option when saving the file. The content will then be saved in a new Drive folder called “Saved from Chrome.”
To save an image from Chrome to Photos, you can long-press the picture and select the “Save in Google Photos” option.
In addition, Google is adding “Shopping Insights” on Chrome for iOS in the U.S. If you’re shopping for a product, Google will now in certain cases show you a “Good Deal Now” notification in the address bar to give you details about price history and more buying options.
Chrome is also getting a new feature that will let you view a map of an address in a single tap. If you’re browsing and see an address for a specific location, you will soon be able to tap the underlined address to view a mini-map of the location directly in Chrome.
Aisha is a consumer news reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining the publication in 2021, she was a telecom reporter at MobileSyrup. Aisha holds an honours bachelor’s degree from University of Toronto and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University.
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