Google starts testing a new Lens icon on Android, says feedback is positive

Instead of appearing as a flatter square with a couple of dots inside, the new icon is now a more rounded square with a small bump on top, outside the square

Google Pixel. (Unsplash)

Google is making a minor change to its Lens feature for limited users on Android. The company is now testing a new Lens icon that can better communicates its functionality. The icon, as spotted by Android Police, is at the top of Google app inside the search field. This placement of the icon is rather new on Android as it was introduced in October last year. Apple iPhone users have this since quite some time.

So, what has changed in the new Google Lens icon? Instead of appearing as a flattsquare with a couple of dots inside, the new icon is now a more rounded square with a small bump on top, outside the square, looking more like a DSLR than a point and shoot camera. While Blue stays as the most dominant colour in the icon, Green is the least dominant one.

According to Rajan Patel, VP of engineering at Google, this change seems to be doing well. “It's an experiment to see if we can better communicate that tapping that button will open the camera. Seems to be doing well!” he tweeted.

It's an experiment to see if we can better communicate that tapping that button will open the camera. Seems to be doing well!

— Rajan Patel (@rajanpatel) January 23, 2021

Google Lens, till date, has two official icons only. In 2017, when announced on stage during Google IO conference, the icon was shown in a rectangular shape. It also showed up in Pixel 2 and 2XL's retail packaging, which were also the first phones integrated with Lens.

In 2019, Google made a minor change to it with rounded corners and appear more like a viewfinder than an actual camera.