Circle to Search is my favorite Galaxy S24 feature — if Samsung and Google don’t screw it up

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra hands-on
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Of all the Galaxy AI features Samsung has packed into the new Galaxy S24 phones — and the list is quite extensive — few impressed me more than Circle to Search. It's a tool that works exactly how you think it would and delivers precisely what it's supposed to.

There's no learning curve to Circle to Search, other than remembering that you activate with a long press of the home button. From there, it's simply a matter of drawing a circle or tapping an image you want to find out more about. It's basically the equivalent of pointing at something and shouting "tell me what that is," and a helpful person popping up out nowhere to provide you an answer. The difference is, all this is happening on your phone.

For that reason, Circle to Search is going to be a tool we all use. Well, those of us who have either a Galaxy S24 model or a Pixel 8 will, anyway. (Samsung developed Circle to Search with Google, so that company's flagship phones are getting the feature, too, via a software update.) It's a very natural extension of your phone's search capabilties.

But as much as I appreciate Circle to Search, it's a feature that's going to have to evolve beyond its current use cases. And it's going to require some work — particularly on Google's side — to make sure that it's delivering helpful results.

Meet Circle to Search

Circle to Search on Galaxy S24 Plus

(Image credit: Future)

I had a chance to test out many of the new Galaxy AI features during the Galaxy S24 launch event last week in San Jose. Using a Galaxy 24 Plus while browsing the web in the built-in Chrome app, I came across a news article about whale migrations. Pressing the home button and then tapping on a picture of a whale in the article summoned a search pane from the bottom of the screen containing links and information about whales, such as facts about the particular species and other related news articles.

A second demo produced search results geared toward online shopping, as I circled a Hawaiian shirt in a cast photo from the original Magnum PI TV series and was treated to a pop-up panel with shopping links to Hawaiian shirts with similar colors and patterns.

Besides the simplicity of launching a Circle to Search experience, the real value of the feature is that window that slides up. You're not leaping to a different app to conduct your search or to look at results — you stay exactly where you are on the phone, and when you're done, you can dismiss the search results panel and resume with whatever it is you were doing in the first place, whether it's reading that whale migration article or admiring the wardrobe of 1980s TV detectives.

When you've circled a search topic, a search field appears with a thumbnail of your image and the ability to add more search terms. I like this ideal behind feature, too, as it should let you further refine your searches and not just provide visual input. (I haven't had a chance to test this more formally yet, but the ability to bring in other search terms is a welcome addition.)

Circle to Search -- what's not to like

Circle to search galaxy ai

(Image credit: Future)

If I have a concern about Circle to Search, it's that right now the search feature seems geared toward e-commerce. And that makes sense, as you're likely to tap and circle things to find out more about them because you're either struck by their look or because you'd like to own something similar.

As someone who's regularly steering people toward the best phone deals, I have no particular beef with money changing hands for goods or services. But if that's all that Circle to Search winds up enabling, I think it's going to be a missed opportunity.

Fortunately, I think Samsung feels that way, too. When I brought up my concern to Sally Hyesoon Jeong, a vice president at Samsung, she spoke about the ways Circle to Search could evolve over time, with one future goal being that users will be able to tap into feature for follow-up questions that help them further refine the results that turn up. There's also the likelihood that Circle to Search gets optimized for other types of devices — think Samsung's line of foldable phones — so that the search capabilities take the unique form factors and multitasking tools of those devices into account.

Personally, I could see Circle to Search become a valuable tool for travel, letting you use the ability to tap and circle objects on your phone's screen to pull up information about landmarks and tourist spots. It could also be a handy to summon up menus, reviews and — e-commerce alert! — specials and deals when you're out and about and looking for a place to eat.

The other big concern with Circle to Search is that the result it's turning up prove to be valuable. That's no idle worry, either. Just recently, we've a German study conclude that Google Search results are increasingly becoming littered with spam and link farms, a problem that AI-generated content only figures to make worse. Speaking of AI-generated articles, a report by 404 Media finds that Google News is increasingly surfacing articles that are simply AI-produced rip-offs of other people's work.

That's a problem for search in general and Circle to Search in particular. What value is there to easier access to search results if the results are largely garbage?

Circle to Search outlook

But that's an issue for Google to tackle over time. Right now, we can simply appreciate Circle to Search for being one of the best new additions to the Galaxy S24.

Is Circle to Search reason enough to buy the Galaxy S24 on its own? Probably not. But throw in the other AI capabilities plus the modest hardware improvements, and you can certainly make the case that the S24 is a big step forward for Samsung's flagship phones.

More from Tom's Guide

Philip Michaels

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

Read more
An image showing the Samsung Galaxy S24 with the Circle to Search feature being used on screen
I tested Circle to Search’s new features for the Galaxy S25 — here’s what happened
Samsung Galaxy S25 review photos.
I've used Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S25 for a week — here's what I like and what I don't
Samsung galaxy s24 and galaxy s24 plus
Just got a Samsung Galaxy S24? Try these 11 features first
Galaxy S25 Ultra Now brief
Samsung Galaxy S25 — here’s the AI features that could make you upgrade
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on
Samsung Galaxy S25 AI features — here's everything that's new
Samsung Galaxy S25 review photos.
Galaxy S25 hits stores this Friday — here's the first feature I'm going to try
Latest in Samsung Phones
Showing the front of a Galaxy S25 Ultra held in hand
One UI 7 will arrive late for US Samsung users — here’s when it’ll launch for you
samsung galaxy s25 edge mockup at galaxy unpacked
Galaxy S25 Edge is overhyped — I want Samsung to make this phone thinner instead
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Older Samsung phones are finally getting One UI 7 — here's all the devices
The iPhone 16 Pro Max (L) and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra rear cameras
I took 200 macro photos with Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro — here's the winner
Try Galaxy home screen on iPhone 16 Pro Max
You can now try Samsung's latest One UI 7 software on your iPhone — here's how
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge back
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge price comes into focus with latest leak
Latest in Opinion
Daniel Craig in Knives Out 2, Glen Powell as Gary Johnson in Hit Man and Jennifer Lawrence in No Hard Feelings
There’s been 136 Netflix No. 1 movies in the last 4 years — here’s the 15 you need to watch
March Madness games on YouTube TV using multiview
This is how I've streamed March Madness for the past 2 years — and it's the only way to watch every second of all 67 games
woman shopping for TV with retail worker giving advice
I've been testing TVs for a decade — 5 things to avoid when shopping for a cheap TV
Adam Scott as Mark S and Britt Lower as Helly R in Severance, standing by an elevator
'Severance' season 2 finale — here's my wild theory based on episode 9
Mark Duplass and Ellen Pompeo in "Good American Family" on Hulu
Hulu’s new true crime drama is one of the most shocking shows I’ve ever watched — and you can stream it now
Finn Cole as Chris Lemons in "Last Breath"
You can now stream this gripping survival thriller that had me holding my breath — here's why it's one of 2025's best movies yet