New look for Circle to Search: A clear navigation bar

Google is rolling out a fresh update for Circle to Search, bringing a see-through navigation bar to its search results. This comes after earlier changes like a longer press to start it and stronger vibration feedback.

Before this update, the results page—whether a small pop-up or full screen—had a solid navigation bar at the bottom. Now, it’s switching to a clear one, giving the page a sleek, updated feel that matches the cool overlay of Circle to Search. If you use the classic 3-button navigation (set to get a handy back prediction feature in Android 16), this change stands out big time. For those using swipe gestures, it’s a little less obvious but still noticeable.

Unlike regular Google app searches, which keep a solid bar at the bottom, Circle to Search is going for this airy, transparent style. It’s a small tweak, but it makes a difference.
On top of that, Google is testing a new full-width bar that pops up at the bottom of the screen asking, “Are these results helpful?” You can tap Yes, No, or just close it. This idea comes from Google Lens and shows up only when you stretch the results to fill the whole screen.

We spotted these updates today on some Pixel phones running the beta version of the Google app, 16.6. It’s not on the stable version yet, and we haven’t seen it on Samsung devices either. Samsung phones could really shine with this change, as shown in the picture above. This update joins other recent Circle to Search improvements, like the easier gesture to launch it from earlier this month and the larger bar redesign from the beginning of the year. It’s all about making the experience smoother and more modern!