ChromeOS Gallery app is gaining Google Photos integration for easy editing

Kyle Bradshaw | Jun 2 2022 - 11:14 am PT

In an upcoming update to ChromeOS, the Gallery app is gaining a handy option to edit images and videos in Google Photos.

On ChromeOS today, there are a handful of image editing tools built into the default Gallery app. With one click, you’re able to crop & rotate, rescale, add filters to, or annotate an image, while any more advanced edits will need to be done in a proper editor.

It looks like Google is planning to make a better editor more readily available on Chromebooks, in the form of Google Photos integration. According to a pair of upcoming flags, accessible through chrome://flags, the Gallery app (referred to internally as “Media App”) will take advantage of Google Photos to offer “more editing tools” than it already has.

Media App Photos Integration (Image)
Within Gallery, enable finding more editing tools for images in Photos
#media-app-photos-integration-image

Media App Photos Integration (Video)
Within Gallery, enable finding editing tools for videos in Photos
#media-app-photos-integration-video

Based on what we can see today, the current plan is for there to be a new option in the editor area that will open the current photo or video in the fully-featured Android version of the Google Photos app. From there, you’ll be have access to the usual suite of Google Photos editing features, including advanced tweaks like white point, black point, skin tone, vignette, and more.

All of this can already be done on ChromeOS today, of course, but you need to manually open Google Photos and track down the file you’re wanting to edit. This is a convenience change first and foremost.

Overall, this is a fairly minor change to the Gallery app, but it’s great to see the continued integration between ChromeOS and Google Photos. This is a good compromise, allowing Gallery to continue being a quick and simple app while delegating more in-depth work to Google Photos. Earlier this year, we showcased how ChromeOS would soon be able to use an image from your Google Photos library as a wallpaper.