With Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) blurring the lines between the real and the virtual, every tech company, from big corporations like Google and Facebook to startups like Magic Leap and WaveOptics, is trying their hand at the new emerging technology . Google has been working on AR for a while now, but its previous project, 'Goggles', was scrapped as early as 2014. Undeterred by the setback, the company recently announced another service that promises to revolutionize the way we search for information. about the physical things around us on the web. Called Google Lens, the software was announced earlier this year at the company's annual I/O developer conference in San Francisco, California. The feature will be integrated into Google Assistant, as well as Google Photos, but will only be available on the two second-generation Pixel devices at this time before becoming more widely available in the coming months. So, in case you want to try something similar without buying a Pixel 2, you can try these Google Lens alternatives on your smartphone:
CamFind
CamFind is one of the oldest and best-known image search apps. She is available for free on Android and iOS. The app is obviously not an exact replica of Google Lens, in that it doesn't do AR, but it's just the next best thing. CamFind lets you take a photo of any object around you and upload it to its servers with just one click. He then uses his CloudSight Image Recognition API exclusive to not only tell you what it is, but also suggest websites that might provide you with more information on the subject. From what we have seen, these search results also include related images and local shopping results from e-commerce sites such as Amazon.
While the two things we tried worked well (a computer keyboard and a hatchback), the company also claims that CamFind is capable ofidentifier correctly the movies of their posters. Not only that, once the app identifies a movie, it will apparently pop up trailers, showtimes, and even suggest local theaters that are showing the movie. You can also mark a particular search as a favorite if you want to return to it later.
“Live Stream” and “Popular” are two of the other features that allow users to view other searches in real time. While 'Popular' shows searches that have been marked as 'favorites' by other users, 'Live Searches' shows you new uploads in real time. However, these two features are disabled by default and must be manually enabled if you wish to share your searches with other users. That said, privacy-conscious users can rest assured. On the other hand, if you want to advertise your research to the rest of the world, you can also share it on social networks or send it to your WhatsApp contacts from the application.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYImage Search
Image Search is another super popular app that will identify images by uploading them to Google's reverse image search engine. You can select any image on your phone, but unlike CamFind, it does not allow you to take photos directly, so you will need to take a picture before opening this app. That said, it really isn't a big deal when you think about it, although the fact that it only supports Google from the get-go might be a bit of a negative for some. While the app allows you to create your own custom search engines, many unsophisticated users may find the process a bit cumbersome and unintuitive.
As can be seen above, the results may be a bit of a hit, but it's not really the app's problem if Google's algorithm is still struggling to recognize dimly lit hoarding. Overall, Image Search is a good app, and being based on Google's image search algorithm means it works way more often than not. What I also really liked was the inclusion of the Night mode which looks much cooler and more sophisticated than the white screens that greet you when using most of these apps. It's not perfect, and not nearly as intuitive as CamFind, but it will still work as a Google Lens alternative until we can get the real deal on our phones.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYSearch By Image
Search By Image is another reverse image search app that displays reverse search engine results from Google Images and TinEye. To do a reverse image search through this app, all you need to do is select the image from your phone by opening the app and selecting the “+” sign on the landing screen. Then choose whether you want to upload an image from your gallery or take a new photo for internet search. Whichever option you choose, you will be able to crop, resize or flip an image before uploading it.
"Search by Image" and "Image Search" are quite similar on the Play Store, which isn't surprising given that they both use Google's image search results, but personally I thought that this app was more intuitive and better UI than the previous one. As already mentioned, Google is the default search engine for this particular application, but you can change it to TinEye if you wish, although Google also allows you to use Google SafeSearch to block disturbing images.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
Image Search – PictPicks
Earlier known as Image Search Viewer, PictPicks is another app you can try if you are looking for a Google Lens alternative on your smartphone. The app comes with l’interface Material Design de Google, which makes it very pleasant to use and, in my opinion, has one of the friendliest user interfaces among the apps on this list. Like the ones above, PictPicks also uses Google Image Search to deliver its results, but rather than throwing you to Google's webpage, the app displays the linked images. via its own user interface.
PictPick has a cote enough high with more than 100 installations on the Play Store, and once you've played with it for a while, it's not hard to see why. It has all the features you'd expect from Google Image Search, meaning you can filter your images by size, color, type, and time, and turn on SafeSearch if you don't want to be bombarded with NSFW visuals. You can also use the results to find other similar images, share them via Bluetooth or WhatsApp, and also set images as your wallpapers or contact photos.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAYReverse Image Search
Reverse Image Search is one more option you can try if you are looking to get more information about an image or verify the source of photos, WhatsApp images, Instagram photos, screenshots and memes. Like pretty much every other app on this list, this one uses also Google's image search feature, so you have access to all known functions, including SafeSearch.
Unlike some apps on this list, this particular app comes with a camera interface that allows you to click on an image before downloading it, which makes the process a bit more seamless and intuitive. You can also share the images or your search results on social networks, via messaging apps or via Bluetooth. Overall, it's a very good app that does what it promises, and is worth a try if you're looking for a Google Lens alternative on your Android smartphone.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
