A few years back, Google introduced the “What’s on My Screen?” feature, which basically looks at the screen of your Android device and finds out what information is there. If you tap What’s on My Screen, you can track numbers, highlight phone numbers, get names, and do much more. If you want to copy and paste numbers from one place on your phone to another, then this feature is one of the best ones that Google offers you.
However, the “What’s on My Screen?” feature by Google is not used anymore. This is because Google Assistant has replaced this feature with the “Search this screen” option, which is a Lens-branded shortcut. Although, many people reported that whenever Google Assistant is turned on, this lens button will not appear every time.
Google What’s On My Screen – A General Overview
You already know how to use Google Assistant for your phone. You can bring the Google Assistant either through your voice or by pressing the home button of your phone for a long time. However, if you are an old Android user, you might remember how the “Now on Tap” feature used to appear on Google. You could use the option to scan anything that was on your phone screen. With the feature, you had access to contextual information.
When Google Assistant was launched, the “Now on Tap” feature came as “What’s on My Screen?” However, this feature frequently disappeared with Google Assistant. Furthermore, this “What’s on My Screen?” option mainly comes now as a suggestion. You will find it on Google Assistant’s main screen.
If you tap the “What’s on My Screen?” option on Google Assistant or just say, “Hey Google What’s on My Screen?” you will get to see relevant results on the basis of whatever is displayed on your screen. However, with the current versions of Google Assistant, the aforementioned feature is removed, and Google Lens is provided to read whatever is there on your screen.
How To Activate The Google What’s On My Screen Feature On Your Phone?
“What’s on My Screen?” is one of the major features provided by Google Assistant. However, this feature is only available on Android phones that use Google Assistant. Since iPhone uses another voice option in its phone, hence this feature is not available on Apple devices.
Furthermore, based on the language you use and the country you stay in, the “What’s on My Screen?” feature might not be available. The following are the steps you need to follow to use the “What’s on My Screen?” feature on your Google Assistant:
Step 1: Start Google Assistant. Touch the home button on your Android device. You can also say, “Hey Google,” to bring the Google Assistant.
Step 2: The “What’s on My Screen?” feature will appear on the main menu of Google Assistant. Tap that feature to use it to your advantage.
With Google’s “What’s on My Screen?” feature, you can find information about many things that, include people, restaurants, music, movies, and many more. If you want to know about such things, you can use this option to get what Google has to offer.
Turn On/ Off Screen Search On Android
Here are the steps that you need to follow to turn on/ off the search screen feature on Android:
Step 1: Open Google Assistant on your Android phone or say, “Hey Google.”
Step 2: Go to Assistant Settings. Just say on Google Assistant, “Hey Google, open Assistant settings.”
Step 3: Find the “All Settings” section, and tap on the “General” option.
Step 4: You can turn on/ off the “Use screen context” option here.
If you turn on this option and you use the “What’s on My Screen?” feature, Google Assistant uses the content on the screen to find out information based on it in the Google Search Engine.
Why Was The Feature “What’s On My Screen” Removed By Google?
In Google Assistant, the “What’s on My Screen?” feature is removed, and instead, a new feature by the name of Google Lens is used. This is because Google Lens is a powerful feature and has more options than the old feature. Suppose you want to use a lot of text on your screen to search for information. You can use the Google Lens feature easily.
However, the problem with Google Lens, as many users have complained, is that you will have to take a screenshot first to find out what information is there regarding what is on your screen. However, “What’s on My Screen?” is making a comeback by the name of “Search this screen.”
Google’s “What’s On My Screen” Replaced By Google Lens
According to Android Police,
“Google has been pushing Lens into its users’ faces for a long time now.”
On the search bar of the Google app, you can find the option, too, apart from Google Assistant. The Google Lens feature is also provided in the Google camera also. Furthermore, you can also find the Google Lens feature on Google Photos now.
Nowadays, Google is also using a sub-feature on Google Lens by the name of “Search this screen.” This will also help people find out the usage of the feature and use it more often to find information.
The Android Police website is of the opinion,
“Just like the Lens button, the new “Search my screen” shortcut will still open the usual Lens interface complete with everything Lens-related you could need, like the option to translate or copy text. The redesigned button even still has the Lens icon attached, just without the Lens name itself.”
Summing Up
Google’s “What’s on My Screen?” feature is quite useful, as it is pretty easy to look up something that is on your screen, and you also have the option to copy addresses, notes, and phone numbers. Furthermore, you can also track numbers through this amazing feature. However, recently Google Assistant removed this feature and replaced it with Google Lens. However, with the help of Google Lens, you have to take a screenshot to know whatever is on your screen. That is why many users of Google Assistant preferred “What’s on My Screen?” over Google Lens.
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Debamalya Mukherjee
