Google rolls out new update for Chrome on iOS: Lens in search bar, direct save to Drive & more — All you need to know

Google has in a blogpost on November 12 announced four new updates for Chrome on iOS devices — iPhones and iPads. These include saving online content to Google Drive and Google Photos, Shopping Insights and Google Lens functions for Chrome on iOS.

Here is All You Need to Know: Chrome on iOS

• Google Lens search: In the new Google Lens update, you can now add textual descriptions to your photos when searching. Previously, you could take a photo or upload one from your gallery to search an image, now you can also add words to your visual query to search with images and text at the same time.

“This allows you to perform more complex and specific searches, with more helpful and relevant results,” the blog noted. Functionalities of this includes asking a question about the image, or refining the search using colour or attributes.

Further, the blog noted that depending on your search, you might also get an AI Overview that brings together the most relevant information from across the web. To access Lens, just tap the camera icon in the Google Search bar.

• Saving files and pictures to Drive and Photos: The update now allows you to free up storage space on your iPhone, iPad, iOS device by directly content from the web to Google Drive and Google Photos via Chrome.

This means that you no longer have to download the information/visual to your phone memory and then upload it to cloud. Now, to add a file from Chrome to your Drive, tap the Google Drive option when saving the file.

Files you download from Chrome on iOS will now be saved in a new Drive folder called “Saved from Chrome”.

And images from Chrome to Photos, can be saved by long-press of the picture and then selecting “Save in Google Photos” when the context menu pops up.

To use this feature, you need to be signed into at least one Google account.

• Shopping Insights: For Chrome iOS users in the United States, Google has begun rolling out a feature to help you find deals when shopping.

Once the feature is available on your device, Chrome will show Shopping Insights for a product that you’re browsing. You will receive a “Good Deal Now” notification in your address bar, which you can tap to check details such as price history, price tracking and more buying options.

To start saving, make sure you’re signed into Chrome and have the “Make Searches and Browsing Better” setting enabled. The feature is set to be rolled out to more regions.

• Single Tap to View Map of an Address: While you can already view a map of an address without switching to the Maps app from Chrome, the update makes this “even easier” according to the blog.

“Starting soon, when you’re on a website and see an address for a specific location, all you'll need to do is tap the underlined address and you'll be able to view a mini-map of the location directly in Chrome. We’re currently experimenting with this feature and will continue to roll it out globally over the coming months, so keep an eye out for it on your device,” the blog noted.

Google further said that more Chrome iOS features are likely in the coming months.