Following iOS 14 last fall and Android 12 in the coming weeks, Google has a renewed focus on homescreen widgets, a UI element that it pioneered. One of the first revamped widgets to launch widely is “Your memories” for Google Photos.
After updating to version 5.53, long-pressing on the Google Photos app icon or browsing the widgets pane on your launcher will show “Your memories.” It lets you “Rediscover moments from Google Photos” and comes in at 2×2. The widget can be expanded to take up the entire screen, though the corners are rounded. It takes a second for the crop to adjust after expanding, but it will eventually fix itself.
The date appears centered at the bottom edge, but collections created by Memories see titles left-aligned. In the former case, tapping will open the full image, while the latter takes you to the Story-based viewer.
After you open the app from a widget interaction, the slideshow will cycle to the next image. We’ve yet to discern what the natural update interval is.
This is a first good outing for Google widgets on Android. Seeing photos on your homescreen is absolutely delightful and makes for a great blast of nostalgia.
Google Photos 5.53 with the new memories widget is widely rolled out today. If you don’t see it yet, go into App info and Force stop Photos. Meanwhile, we tested it on Android 10, 11, and 12 today.
More about Google Photos:
- Photos for Android adds haptic feedback when scrolling your extended image library
- Google Photos preps ‘Ask friends for photos’ feature for shared albums
- Google Photos alternatives: Some of the best free options [Video]
- [Updated] Google Photos brings ‘Sharing’ tab back to bottom bar, moves ‘Print store’
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