Earlier this month, Google announced a slew of Photos features, including in-store prints and story-like Memories. We first got wind of that latter feature in July, along with another called “Photo frames.” That ability to control what Google Photos content appears on your Smart Display is now beginning to roll out.
One Reddit user this evening spotted a “Photo frames” section appear in the Google Photos navigation drawer just underneath the Print store. It features a small Material Theme icon that depicts a Smart Display and blue “NEW” badge.
Update 10/7: After being spotted late last month, the in-app “Photo frame” controls for Smart Displays and Chromecasts are now widely rolled out with Google Photos 4.25 today.
Tapping launches a page that lists all your connected Cast devices with the ability to “Select a photo frame to manage what albums are displayed on it.” Including Chromecast-connected and enabled televisions, devices are organized by room and feature the same icons as the Home client.
If you don’t have a Smart Display, there’s an interesting ad for the Nest Hub. It’s priced at $129, though the asterisk implies that there might be a deal in the future.
After selecting a device, you’ll presumably be able to select albums. The full Google Home app also lets you conveniently choose people, highlights, and favorites.
With the best part of Smart Displays being the Photo frame functionality, it makes a ton of sense for Google to simplify controls. One common complaint of the Home client is how everything is buried in menus. It also helps to more closely associate the beloved Google Photos brand with Smart Displays .
Photo frame controls are not widely available in the Android app today, and it’s likely rolling out via a server-side update. Google has yet to announce this functionality, though it did preview a built-in messaging feature that’s coming soon to the service.
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