Google Photos generating straightforward ‘Year in Review’ story, 2020 photo book

Abner Li | Dec 30 2020 - 9:54 am PT

Earlier this month, Google announced that the carousel at the top of Photos would add more memories and designs. Google Photos is now using that to serve your Year in Review and generate a 2020 photo book.

Once available, “Year in Review” will appear first in the Memories carousel on Android and iOS, with the web excluded. Instead of the usual look back at this day/week in previous years or recent highlights, it’s a recap from the past 12 months.

Like before, you tap the edges to navigate backward/forward, while a press and hold pauses. The date and location is noted at the top, while there are share and overflow buttons in the corner to “View all photos from this day.”

Lastly, there’s a “Preview book” button that lets you create an annual photo book. “A few related photos you might like have been added,” while you can customize and add/delete like usual.

There’s a slight quirk with the name. In the past, this Google Photos creation was named “Best of 20XX.” For 2020, it’s just a very basic “Year in Review” — you can of course change the book name yourself. Not to read too deeply into this change, but it might be reflective of how it hasn’t been the “best” year.