The March 2026 Pixel Drop is here but along with all the new things, there are some that are missing | Image by Google
The stable Android 16 QPR3 update, also known as the March 2026 Pixel update, has been rolling out to Pixel phones since earlier this month. Alongside all the new things, as always, there are some things missing.
It seems that Google has silently erased one useful feature with this update, and if you've been using the Recent apps screen often, you might've noticed the change. With the new update installed, you can no longer access Google Lens for image search from the Recents screen or easily save images from the same menu.
No more image saving from the Recents screen
The pop-up menu inside Recents used to have more options | Image by AndroidAuthority
When you pull from the bottom of your Pixel screen and hold, you enter the Recent apps screen, sometimes also called the overview screen. It shows all the launched apps, and you can also do clever things without the need to go into any of these apps.
For example, you can tap and hold on an image inside Recents, let's say a photo in a browser, and a pop-up menu will appear to let you do some interesting stuff with this image. Up until the March update, this menu allowed people to directly save the image on their phones. This menu consisted of the following options: Lens, Copy, Share, and Save.
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After the update you can only see Copy, Share, and Edit. There's still a way to save images to Photos. It involves selecting the Share option and then searching for the "upload to Photos" option. It's still there, but it's a lot clunkier than the previous shortcut.
Have you ever used the "save image" and "Lens" shortcuts in the Recent apps screen?
Google Lens is also gone
Google Lens was available as a shortcut from the Recents screen | Image by Google
The Lens option is also gone from the menu, but there's another workaround. You can either use Circle to Search or again open the Share menu and search for the "Google Search Image" option there. It basically launches Lens.
Once again, it was much more intuitive and fast to do it from the initial pop-up menu in Recents than to search deep in the Share options.
For many of you, this change will go unnoticed, as people might not be familiar with the feature in the first place. That might also be part of the reasoning behind the change. However, for some, the update has removed a useful and fast way to save and search photos right from the Recents screen.
Have you ever used this feature, and if yes, are you going to miss it?
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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