Following up on the launch of its first family safety feature last week, Microsoft Launcher is bringing a couple of additional new features to beta testers. Notably, the latest update enables intelligent visual search from the search bar, along with a way to keep an eye on your Microsoft Rewards points from the main feed.
As its name implies, visual search will let you use your camera to search for places and things around you. The feature uses a bit of AI magic to recognize everything from celebrities to landmarks and apparel, and then searches the web for more on whatever you capture.
Lots of new features in #MicrosoftLauncher 4.10 Beta - 1) Introducing Visual Search. Use the camera function through the Launcher Search bar to capture images and intelligently recognize celebrities, landmarks, items, apparel and more!Lots of new features in #MicrosoftLauncher 4.10 Beta - 1) Introducing Visual Search. Use the camera function through the Launcher Search bar to capture images and intelligently recognize celebrities, landmarks, items, apparel and more!— Vishnu Nath (@VishnuNath) May 21, 2018May 21, 2018
Additionally, if you're a Microsoft Rewards member, you'll now see your Rewards balance in the Launcher feed. You can also earn Rewards points for using Bing Search in Microsoft Launcher.
Here's a look at the official release notes:
- Introducing Visual Search. Use the camera function through the Launcher Search bar to capture images and intelligently recognize celebrities, landmarks, items, apparel and more!
- Microsoft Rewards: Now Microsoft Rewards customers can see their Rewards balance in the Launcher Feed and earn points for using Bing Search through Microsoft Launcher!
Last week, Microsoft also gave parents with Microsoft Launcher the ability to view the last known location and device activity of their children on Android phones running Launcher. Activity tracking is also now available across Windows PCs and Xbox consoles.
If you're enrolled as a beta tester, you'll see these features roll out to your Launcher soon with version 4.10. To become a tester, you can sign up on Google Play now (opens in new tab). If you'd rather skip out on beta testing, then these features should make their way to the release version soon.
Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the Editor in Chief for Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. Got a hot tip? Send it to daniel.thorp-lancaster@futurenet.com.
