Google Photos
Inline with what we’ve been tracking for the past several weeks, Google Photos today announced a slew of updates. Inside the app, there is a new stories-esque Memories feature that lives above the gallery, and message-esque sharing in the coming months.
In addition to Google Photos soon gaining support for ordering in-store canvas and 4×6 prints, the Android client is testing a redesigned photo viewer. The big change is a combined menu and info sheet.
At I/O 2017, Google Photos gained the ability to create and buy physical “Photo books.” The latest version of the Android app suggests that Google is expanding its physical offerings to include “Prints” and “Canvas prints.”
Google Photos is rolling out face-grouping to Europe finally after we first saw the feature rollout to some regions way back in 2015 would you believe.
Google Photos 4.23 is rolling out this evening and details a number of upcoming features, including “Memories” and possible in-app Smart Display Photo Frame setup. Google One trials could also be coming, while the Colorize beta is in the works.
Launched last month, Gallery Go is getting its first major update with a dark theme. Developed by the Google Photos team, this lightweight image viewer will add the night friendly look over the new few days.
Google this week announced that Photos has 1 billion users and launched Gallery Go for the Next Billion Users. Google Photos 4.21 this week suggests that the “stories” format is coming to the main app, while Smart Display Photo Frame settings could be integrated.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Google Photos is one of the company’s most praised services, and now, it’s joining the ranks of the most popular. Earlier this summer, Google Photos officially passed the one billion user mark.
Google has officially launched another “lite” app for a popular full-fat option in the form of Gallery Go. The photo app offers many of the best Google Photos features available to emerging markets in a slimmed-down package.
Last month, the Google Photos dark theme began rolling out to non-Android Q devices. The latest feature for the Android client is a live video preview in the main “Photos” tab.
After an extensive Twitter Q&A, Google Photos product lead, David Lieb, was tasked with fielding a ton of inquiries. The net result was confirmation of a few upcoming Google Photos features.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Google Photos is arguably one of the company’s most beloved services. The Android app recently added a dark theme, with its Product Lead today taking requests for new features, bug fixes, or performance improvements on Twitter.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Over the past several months, many Google apps have adopted dark themes with the Google app and Gmail likely coming next. Google today detailed how the teams behind Photos, Calendar, and other first-party services designed their dark modes.
Google Photos is one of Google’s best services, made especially useful by the fact that it’s mostly free. One of the paid parts of the Google Photos app is the ability to make photo books, and some users are now seeing large ads for those books in the app.
Last month, we uncovered hints in the Google Drive app that the cloud storage service’s dedicated “Google Photos” folder would no longer be synced with your Google Photos. Today, Google is making the change official and explaining why the sync between Drive and Photos needed to simplified.
Over the past several weeks many first-party apps have gained dark modes, including Google Calendar and Keep just last month. The latest is now Google Photos, with users on non-Android Q devices notably seeing the darker theme.
Regardless of your platform, Google Photos is one of the best options available for backing up and storing your photos. However, on iPhones and iPads, the app has always felt crippled by iOS. With the debut of iOS 13, the sync issues Google Photos has faced may finally be over with thanks to a new background tasks API.
Google Drive has long been the all-in-one storage solution for many, storing both traditional office files and Google Docs, along with photos and files of all varieties. In the past, Google Drive has worked in tandem with Google Photos to keep your photos safely stowed and accessible in both apps. This Google Photos sync integration seems to be ending in the near future, however, according to the latest version of the Google Drive app.
At I/O 2019, Google pushed privacy by expanding Incognito beyond Chrome to Maps and Search. Google Photos might be the next app to receive that mode, while version 4.16 today also updates the Google Lens icon to the new style.
Back at I/O 2018, Google teased the seriously impressive Google Photos feature Colorize, which has the ability to add color to black and white photos.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Over the past few years, some phone makers have adopted a feature that allows a photo to include a short video with it. Google Photos, of course, supports the Pixel’s version of this, and even Apple’s. However, Samsung’s Motion Photos haven’t been supported in Google Photos for quite some time. Now, that might be changing.
After rolling out a Material Theme navigation drawer last week, Google Photos for Android is set to receive backup status indicators right in the gallery view. The app is also adding support for Android Foldables ahead of next week’s Samsung Galaxy Fold launch.
The Google Material Theme has slowly expanded to all of the company’s apps. Version 4.0 last September introduced the bulk of design changes to Google Photos, with the latest now updating the navigation drawer on Android.