Circle to Search is already quite a useful feature – allowing users of compatible phones (including the Google Pixel 8 line and the Samsung Galaxy S24 series) to circle objects and people on their screen, and have the phone conduct an AI-powered search for them. But soon, it looks set to also be able to identify audio.
We first saw evidence of audio identification coming to Circle to Search back in June, but back then it was believed that this would only work with audio playing on your device. Now though, Android Authority has actually managed to activate the feature by digging around in code from the latest Google app beta, and it seems this audio identification will be far more wide reaching than initially assumed.
When Android Authority activated the feature, which you can see happening in the video below, Circle to Search informed them that it can identify music that’s playing, or that you’re humming or singing.
So you can seemingly use it to identify music that’s playing on your device, playing externally, or that you’re simply humming or singing to your phone.
To use this functionality, you would have to launch Circle to Search as normal, and then tap the new music note icon that’s housed to the right of the search field. Or at least, that’s the current layout, but the feature isn’t active yet unless you mess around with Android code.
As such, it could change, and there’s always a chance this tool won’t even launch. But since it appears to be finished or close to, and would clearly be quite useful, we can’t see why Google wouldn’t launch it.
Could be coming soon, but not before the Pixel 9
The real question is when it will land, but with Android 15 fast approaching, that’s a prime candidate. In which case, we might see this audio identification roll out sometime between now and October.
Before that though, there’s the Google Pixel 9 launch, which is happening today (August 13) at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST, which is August 14 at 3am AEST. So there’s lots on the way for fans of Google’s hardware and software.
To tune into the Pixel 9 launch – where we’re also expecting to see the Pixel 9 Pro, the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, among other things – check out how to watch the Pixel 9 launch event live. Or to read about all the announcements as they happen, along with our impressions, head to our Made by Google live blog.
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