Google App’s Labs will let you try new features that Google is working on

If you’re a fan of testing out new software features ahead of release, then you may already be a member of many of Google’s beta testing channels. There are beta versions of the Google App, Google Chrome, Gboard, Google Maps, and more. The public beta versions aren’t usually that far ahead of the stable releases, though. To allow users to try more features ahead of release, Google is testing a “Labs” section in the Google App. This “Labs” section will let users “be the first to try new features that Google is working on.”

An APK teardown can often predict features that may arrive in a future update of an application, but it is possible that any of the features we mention here may not make it in a future release. This is because these features are currently unimplemented in the live build and may be pulled at any time by Google in a future build.

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Google App Labs Feature

We managed to activate the new Labs feature in the latest beta version of the Google App, 9.36, with help from XDA Recognized Developer Quinny899. Currently, there are only two features available for testing. The first option helps you discover content related to your collections while the second option lets you pinch to zoom in on search result pages. A collection is a set of images, locations, or web pages that the user can bookmark while using the Google App. For example, if you find a decent sushi restaurant in the area, you can save its location to a “want to go” collection. The in-development Labs feature will presumably help you expand these collections by suggesting similar images, locations, or web pages to add to the collection. Lastly, the pinch to zoom gesture will do exactly what it says—make it possible to zoom in while searching for something while in the search tab.

Strings for this feature first popped up in version 9.23, as spotted by 9to5Google. The feature has yet to roll out to any users, but when it does we’ll let you know. You can download the latest version of the Google App from the Google Play Store widget linked below.

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