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Wild new way to search for anything, anywhere with Google's Circle to Search AI feature

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Wild new way to search for anything, anywhere with Google's Circle to Search AI feature

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iPhone owners, eat your heart out.  

Android is the clear winner with a new tool that Google has introduced called Circle to Search.

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This innovative tool allows you to search for anything on your screen without switching apps, making information discovery more seamless and intuitive than ever before.

The Circle to Search AI feature  (Google)

How Circle to Search works

Circle to Search is activated by long-pressing the home button or navigation bar on your Android device. Once activated, you can select any part of your screen using various gestures:

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  • Circling an object
  • Highlighting text
  • Scribbling over an area
  • Tapping on an item

The artificial intelligence-powered search then provides relevant information about your selection right on your screen without interrupting your current activity.

The Circle to Search AI feature  (Google)

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Versatile search capabilities

This feature is incredibly versatile, allowing you to search for a wide range of content:

  • Visual searches: Identify objects, clothing or products in images or videos
  • Text-based searches: Look up unfamiliar terms or concepts
  • Multisearch: Combine image and text queries for more specific results

The Circle to Search AI feature  (Google)

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Real-world applications

The possibilities for Circle to Search are vast:

  • Shopping: Identify and find similar products while browsing social media
  • Learning: Look up unfamiliar terms or concepts while reading articles
  • Entertainment: Get more information about actors, locations or objects in videos
  • Problem-solving: Find solutions to visual puzzles or math problems

The Circle to Search AI feature  (Google)

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AI-powered insights

Circle to Search leverages Google’s advanced AI to provide comprehensive information. When you ask a question about your selection, the feature can pull together relevant details from across the web, offering a more in-depth understanding of the topic.

The Circle to Search AI feature  (Google)

Supported devices

Circle to Search is available on select premium Android smartphones, including:

  • Google Pixel 6 series and later
  • Samsung Galaxy S21 series and later
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and later
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 and later
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

The Circle to Search AI feature  (Google)

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How to use Circle to Search

To search for text, images or videos on your screen:

  • On Gesture navigation mode, long press the navigation handle.
  • Start Circle to Search:
  • On 3-button navigation mode, long press the Home button.

The Circle to Search AI feature  (Google)

  • Circle, highlight or tap anywhere on the screen to select the text, image or video you want to search.
  • If desired, you can refine your search by adding text in the search bar.

The Circle to Search AI feature  (Google)

  • Your search results appear at the bottom of the screen. To see more results, swipe up on the results.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Circle to Search represents a significant step forward in making information access more intuitive and seamless on mobile devices. By eliminating the need to switch between apps, it allows you to stay focused on your current tasks while satisfying your curiosity. As this feature continues to evolve and expand to more devices, it has the potential to revolutionize how we interact with and learn from the digital world around us.

What other features or improvements would you like to see in mobile search tools to enhance your user experience? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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Technology

You can buy your Xbox Ally an official pair of anti-drift joysticks

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You can buy your Xbox Ally an official pair of anti-drift joysticks

Even at $1,000, the Xbox Ally X handheld didn’t ship with magnetic drift-resistant joysticks, and neither did the $600 model. But for an extra $20 at Amazon, you can change that today — with officially Asus-approved and sanctioned TMR joysticks from Gulikit, the company that’s made a name for itself by supplying aftermarket drift-resistant sticks.

The company says it worked with Xbox Ally manufacturer Asus to create these sticks, that they’ll be “automatically recognized” when you swap them in, and that you can use the handheld’s built-in Armoury Crate app to calibrate them afterwards.

And while I haven’t tried these ones (I do have a pair in my Switch), I can confirm it’s pretty easy to pop open the Xbox Ally to install. Just loosen the Philips-head screws, poke in a guitar pick pry tool to create a small gap, and pull a little harder than you think you need to pop open the clips. The joystick modules are right underneath. There’s nothing blocking you — just pop a ribbon cable and undo their three screws.

Here’s the company’s walkthrough in case you want to see for yourself — though I do not recommend taking sharp tweezers to ribbon cables when your fingernails can do that job safer and easier. (I may have broken a few ribbon cables in my life.)

When we’re talking about TMR or the older and slightly less power-efficient Hall effect joystick technology, I usually write “drift-resistant” instead of “drift-free” because you may find your center point drifting over time — but the beauty of magnetic is you just have to recalibrate! Unlike the potentiometer joysticks that ship with Nintendo, Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft Xbox controllers, you’re not scraping away material that’ll lead to permanent drift as you use the magnetic versions.

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Gulikit’s new Xbox Ally sticks are $20 in the US today, and should also be available in the UK for £20, and in Italy, France, and Spain for €22, this January.

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Fox News AI Newsletter: Blue-collar productivity boom

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Fox News AI Newsletter: Blue-collar productivity boom

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:

– AI fuels blue-collar productivity boom across manufacturing, Palantir technology chief tells FOX Business
– New exoskeleton adapts to terrain with smart AI power
– Purdue becomes first university to require AI competency for all undergrads as universities race to adapt

RISE OF MACHINES: Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar told FOX Business artificial intelligence is fueling a blue-collar productivity boom, not mass unemployment as forecast by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Sankar said AI is accelerating hiring, training and American industrial growth.

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SMART STEPS: Recreational exoskeletons have been popping up for years, but the new IRMO M1 exoskeleton feels like a turning point. This next-generation wearable blends artificial intelligence (AI), a forward-facing camera, LADAR sensors and lightweight robotics to give your legs a serious boost on trails and city streets. 

With training and assist modes, the M1 adapts to your goals whether you want more power or more strength.  (IRMO)

EDUCATION REWIRED: Purdue University has announced a new “AI working competency” requirement, the first of its kind at an institution of higher learning, for all undergraduate students on their main campus, Indianapolis and West Lafayette, to complete starting in 2026. 

‘DISPARATE IMPACT’: White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks called out blue states Tuesday for inserting “woke” ideology into artificial intelligence as the Trump administration moves to cut what he described as “unnecessary” regulations on the rapidly developing technology.

EYES TO THE FUTURE: Artificial intelligence (AI) is charging into a new phase in 2026 – one that could reshape business operations, global competition and even which workers thrive, according to Goldman Sachs’ Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti.

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Artificial intelligence enters a new phase in 2026 that could reshape business operations, global competition and workforce outcomes, according to Goldman Sachs Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

‘MORE USABLE’: OpenAI announced an update for ChatGPT Images that it says drastically improves both the generation speed and instruction-following capability of its image generator. A blog post from the company Tuesday says the update will make it much easier to make precise edits to AI-generated images. Previous iterations of the program have struggled to follow instructions and often make unasked-for changes.

HANDS-FREE TECH: Chrome on Android now offers a fresh way to digest information when your hands are busy or your eyes need a break. A new update powered by Google Gemini can turn written webpages into short podcast-style summaries. Two virtual hosts chat about the content, making it feel easier to follow during your commute or while you multitask.

DESANTIS VS. TRUMP: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said on Monday that state officials have the right to regulate artificial intelligence despite President Trump’s recent executive order aiming to require a national AI standard the president argues would overrule state laws.

TECH FORCE: The Trump administration launched a new initiative Monday aimed at recruiting top-tier technical talent to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) at the federal level. The hiring program, known as “Tech Force,” plans to recruit roughly 1,000 early-career technologists for a two-year service term across various federal agencies.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, says state officials have authority to regulate artificial intelligence despite President Trump’s executive order seeking a national AI standard he says would override state laws. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

HOME RUN: Baseball teams have long searched for a way to study the entire swing without sensors or complex lab setups. Today, a new solution is entering the picture. Theia, an AI biomechanics company, debuted a commercially available video-only system that analyzes bat trajectory and full-body biomechanics together. This new approach works in real baseball environments and needs no reflective body markers, wearables or special equipment.

POLICING PUSH: Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., helped advocate for the AI Civil Rights Act last week in order to prevent companies from using what Democrats describe as “biased and discriminatory AI-powered algorithms.”

PRICING GAP : Instacart is using AI-enabled pricing experiments that are substantially raising the prices of identical products for different customers, according to an investigation by Consumer Reports and Groundwork Collaborative. 

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Want to link from Google’s app store to your app? That’ll be $2–4 per install

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Want to link from Google’s app store to your app? That’ll be –4 per install

Today was the deadline for Google to reveal how it’s complying with Judge James Donato’s order to crack open Android for third-party app stores, stop illegally tying its Google Play Billing system to its app store, and let developers link to ways to download their apps outside the Play Store in the US.

But Google isn’t just letting app developers do things however and whenever they’d like. The company’s quietly updated its support pages with a January 28th deadline to enroll in specific Google programs for “alternative billing” and “external content links” — and these programs will come with large alternative fees of their own, assuming Judge Donato doesn’t opt for Epic and Google’s proposed settlement instead.

While it isn’t collecting fees yet, Google says it will charge developers $2.85 for every app and $3.65 for every game a user installs within 24 hours of clicking a link that takes you outside Google’s app store to download them outside the Google ecosystem.

Plus, it’ll take a 20 percent cut of any in-app purchases and 10 percent of any auto-renewing subscriptions. Apps still need to be submitted to Google for review, use a Google API to track them, and developers have to report all transactions (including $0 free trials) if they want to participate.

Google’s service fees for external links.
Image: Google
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Meanwhile, developers who want to offer their own billing solutions will only get a 5 percent discount compared to Google’s current fees, likely making it not worth the effort to try alternative billing at all. Google will charge 25 percent for in-app purchases and 10 percent for auto-renewing subscriptions there; devs will need to integrate a Google API to track those, and report all transactions within 24 hours.

The company will cap some of these fees at 10 percent of a developer’s first $1 million of earnings, making it a bit easier for small developers, but perhaps no easier than it is currently. Google already offers a similar cap at 15 percent, so this too is a 5 percent discount.

How will Judge James Donato react? When Apple told Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers it would require a 27 percent fee for external payments in the parallel Epic v. Apple case, she found Apple in contempt of court, and an appeals court backed up that decision just days ago. However, the appeals court did suggest that Apple may be able to collect some fee, writing that:

Apple should be able to charge a commission on linked-out purchases based on the costs that are genuinely and reasonably necessary for its coordination of external links for linked-out purchases, but no more.

Google currently claims that “the fees associated with the external content links program reflect the value provided by Android and Play and support our continued investments across Android and Play.”

But Google also says it won’t collect any fees quite yet, writing:

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In the future, Google intends to apply a service fee on successful transactions and downloads completed via external content links. At this time, however, Google is not assessing these fees and is therefore not requiring developers in this program to report these transactions or downloads to Google.

In their joint progress report today, Epic and Google’s lawyers write that while Epic agrees with the January 28th deadline and other requirements, “Epic has indicated that it opposes the service fees that Google announced it may implement in the future and that Epic will challenge these fees if they come into effect.”

Of course, none of this will come to pass if Judge Donato accepts Google and Epic’s proposed settlement instead, which would generally apply worldwide (instead of just in the US) and comes with lower standard transaction fees.

But Google signaled that settlement, too, would come with fees on alternative billing and external app downloads, and Judge Donato seemed skeptical of the settlement in November. He’s ordered an evidentiary hearing on January 22nd before he makes a decision.

Since Google’s support pages seem to be fluid as Epic v. Google continues, we’ve archived copies of their current text below.

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