Google Photos bringing Pixel-exclusive editing tools to other Android phones with Google One

Google One primarily serves to give you more storage space for Gmail, Drive, and Photos. Last year, the subscription added a VPN and is now providing all Android users with access to “enhanced” Google Photos editing tools and filters that were previously only available on Pixel phones.

With the launch of the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G in September, Google Photos received a redesigned editor and “Portrait Light” tool to improve lighting on faces. This machine learning-powered feature and “Portrait Blur,” which obscures backgrounds after capture, works on all images, even those that weren’t captured in Portrait mode.

Those two features are now available to all Google One subscribers on Android. Similarly, members will get ML “super filters” that “apply complex edits with just one tap.” Appearing as suggestions, “Dynamic” will tune brightness and contrast “across the image where it’s needed” for “a dramatic, more balanced photo.”

Meanwhile, the Vivid, Luminous, Radiant, Ember, Airy, Afterglow, and Stormy filters work to “make your golden hour images pop by boosting and adjusting the color and contrast in the sky with one of several palettes inspired by breathtaking sunrises and sunsets.” These were first introduced with the December Pixel Feature Drop.

Google One is also upgrading Blur and Color Pop features so they work on images that don’t have depth information. Both of these tools will remain free for all Photos users, but they’ll continue to only work on Portrait mode pictures.

Existing Google One members on Android will see this set of ML-enhanced editing tools — which will be badged by a four-color circular icon — come to their Google Photos app over the coming days. Given their nature, devices must have at least 3GB of RAM and run Android 8.0 or later. Pixel owners will continue to get access to these features at “no additional cost.”

Google One starts at $1.99/month or ($9.99 yearly) for 100GB. These new features come ahead of Google ending free unlimited backup in June and serve to make the subscription a better value. Meanwhile, Google today also announced a revamped video editing experience for Android users. More on that is available here.