Android 16 QPR2 just made Desktop Mode more useful with Circle to Search

Circle to Search is one of Android’s most useful features, letting you quickly Google any text or image onscreen. It can translate text, identify songs, act as a game guide, and even warn you about potential scams. While Google has brought the feature to most premium Android phones since its debut, it has remained limited to their main, internal displays. Connect your phone to an external monitor, and you’ll find the feature unaware of its existence — fortunately, Google has addressed this limitation in the latest Android update.

Telegram user Almog Eisenberg tipped me off that the recent Android 16 QPR2 update enables Circle to Search on external displays. We tested this ourselves and confirmed the change: while Circle to Search on a Pixel running Android 16 QPR1 is limited to the internal screen, a Pixel running QPR2 can trigger it on either display.

To use it, just click and hold the app drawer button (Action Key) or the Home button with your mouse. From there, you can tap, draw, or scribble over the content you want to search. The results appear in a panel on the opposite side of the screen, with the usual options to Create (with Nano Banana), Save (with Pixel Screenshots), Select text, or Share sitting just below your selection.

Aside from Circle to Search support, we haven’t noticed many other major changes to Android’s Desktop Mode in QPR2. If you spot anything new, send me a message or leave a comment below!