Google Photos celebrates 10 years of captured moments with two big updates
What you need to know
- Google Photos is celebrating 10 years of service, and its birthday brings two big updates for Android and iOS.
- The first major update involves a redesigned in-app editor for Photos, bringing AI-powered suggestions for quick edits.
- Photos is also receiving QR codes, so users can share albums quicker.
- Google Photos has received two noteworthy updates in the past year, like the “Collections” tab and “Updates.”
It’s a momentous occasion for Google as it’s busting out the streamers and balloons for one of its well-known apps.
Today (May 28), ten years ago, Google Photos debuted as the company’s ideal ecosystem for capturing memories. In a blog post, Google brought out the birthday cake and two gifts (updates) to keep Photos on its A-game. To mark a decade, Google Photos is set to receive an updated, redesigned in-app editor. The post states this new editor will offer “AI-powered suggestions” when sprucing up your photos.
More than that, these suggestions will combine several of Google Photos’ available AI editing tools for “quick edits.” Users can browse through these suggested actions and see if they like the result. However, if you’re more interested in one particular part of a photo, Google says you can tap on specific parts and still receive AI editing suggestions.
This update will hit Android in June, leaving iOS users to wait until “later this year.”
The second update, though small, breathes new life into sharing Google Photos albums with QR codes. Rolling out today, users can “generate QR codes” to share with people nearby. Those scanning your code can view the album or add pictures.
Watch On
Google slips in a few tips to keep Photos users on the ball, like the ability to hide certain people or places from Memories. To do this, the post instructs users to head into Photos > Settings > Preferences > Memories. From there, dates, people, and even pets can be hidden so you’re not thrust into sad moments or moments of longing. Additionally, Google reminds users that they can search in Photos using keywords.
The app will be able to leverage your gallery to find instances of you in a dress or even you at a sporting event.
Google drops some analytical knowledge, touting that Photos has roughly 1.5 billion users every month, and over 9 trillion stored photos and videos.
Google Photos has had a couple of notable updates in the past year, like the patch that brought the “Collections” tab. This area replaced the app’s old library, giving users a more intuitive, clean look at their albums, documents, and more. The update included a small change to its UI, placing more important options up top, while hiding away buttons for the Locked Folder down below.
A few months later, in late 2024, Google Photos brought in the “Updates” page. Replacing the “Sharing” button, “Updates” gives users a full-on glimpse of new shared albums, photos, and group conversation updates. Let’s also not forget that Google Photos is reportedly ready and waiting on a Material 3 Expressive upgrade, which might (hopefully) arrive soon.
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