Google Photos ‘People & Pets’ widget rolled out as ‘Cinematic photos’ get an upgrade

Abner Li | Dec 9 2021 - 8:30 am PT

Google Photos app with a Material You redesign

Google Photos is rounding out the year with upgraded camera animations for “Cinematic photos,” as well as the wide availability of several Memories-related features.

Google announced Cinematic photos a year ago to help “relive your memories in a way that feels more vivid and realistic.” Machine learning techniques are leveraged to essentially add 3D motion that might have happened in the lead-up to taking an image:

To do this, we use machine learning to predict an image’s depth and produce a 3D representation of the scene—even if the original image doesn’t include depth information from the camera. Then we animate a virtual camera for a smooth panning effect—just like out of the movies.

Machine learning now “fills in parts of the background behind the subject, allowing the virtual camera to move more freely as it finds the best framing to bring attention to your subject.” Google is currently rolling out this upgrade to Cinematic photos.

Meanwhile, the People & Pets widget that lets you essentially place a live album on your homescreen is widely rolled out on Android. Similarly, event Memories will show you New Year’s Eve, Halloween, birthdays, graduations, and more. There’s also wide availability of Memories on the Nest Hub’s “Your day” tab.

Lastly, the Google Photos team leaves users with a holiday poem:

‘Twas a few weeks before the New Year and all through the land,

people were looking back at the time that had spanned.

They looked at photos and videos that they hold dear,

from this week, last month and year after year.

With Google Photos, built just for you,

your memories can come back to life anew.

So here is a list of five ways to look back,

from your home screen, a smart display — or all in the app.