A new feature labeled “Circle Screen” has quietly made an appearance in a recent promotional video featuring Google’s Gemini assistant. Though not officially announced, the option appears in a Gemini overlay and is marked “(DF),” a common indicator of internal testing versions often referred to as “dogfood” builds.
While the feature isn’t available publicly, its inclusion in the video hints at potential functionality. Based on what’s shown, Circle Screen could allow users to draw a circle around a portion of their display to refine a query or provide more specific context—similar to the Circle to Search feature already available on many Android devices. This would shift the search interaction to a more visual, hands-on experience and could offer an alternative to the existing “Ask about screen” feature, which currently captures the entire screen for Gemini’s contextual understanding.
Circle to Search, already integrated with Android’s Google Search, enables quick and intuitive searches directly from the screen. Gemini’s potential Circle Screen feature seems to be aiming for a similar level of convenience but through the assistant interface rather than through Search itself. This overlap raises questions about how Google plans to manage two similar capabilities. The company may decide to unify the features or keep them separate depending on how they evolve.
At this stage, Circle Screen appears limited to internal testing. There’s been no official mention from Google, and the feature hasn’t been spotted in any public builds of the Gemini app. Whether or not it will roll out to users remains to be seen.
Still, its appearance in a promotional clip suggests it’s under active development. If it eventually launches, Circle Screen could offer a more focused and flexible way to interact with content on Android screens, particularly for users who prefer direct visual input as part of their search flow.
