You can now export the Pixel 2’s Motion Photos as GIFs with Google Photos

Abner Li | Mar 7 2018 - 8:08 am PT

In our teardown of Google Photos 3.15 late last month, we spotted the development of a GIF export feature. It is now live, and as we speculated is for Motion Photos on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

Motion Photos capture several frames before and after you snap an image on your Pixel 2. In the past, users could either “Save as video” or “Save as still photo.”

Now, there is a third option to save as a GIF. The app has consolidated all these options under a new “Export” menu accessible from the overflow of a Motion Photo.

Tapping it opens a panel where users can “Export as” video, GIF, or still photo. For the two former options, there is also a “Keep stabilization” toggle that the app notes will trim the content.

The new GIF option takes a minute to process and results in quite a large file size (28 MB in quick testing) at over four times the size of the original Motion Photo (6.7 MB). However, the output is quite high-res at 768 x 1024.

This export option is intended for Motion Photos and widely available on the Pixel 2 with Google Photos 3.15. Recent updates have also added a way to view all backed up Motion Photos through a new filter and category in search.