Google Photos

Announced at the end of last month, the ability to sync the Google Photos Locked Folder across devices signed in to your Google Account is rolling out more widely.

Since its 2021 launch, the complaint that emerged with the Google Photos Locked Folder is people setting up new devices only to find that those images and videos didn’t transfer over. Google Photos is now addressing that with Locked Folder backup, with the broader feature also coming to iOS and the web.

Google Photos is launching one of its first big updates in a while, with a new redesigned navigation bar and revamped “Memories” rolling out starting today.

While we wait for Magic Editor, Google Photos is adding new effects to make videos “pop” with one of 12 different styles that just requires a tap.  

Google usually prioritizes its Android and iOS apps when adding new features, but Google Photos on the web is now adding advanced editing Google One tools.

Google Photos is a very impressive app and useful service for a number of reasons, not least of which is its excellent facial recognition for grouping photos. Suddenly, though, Google Photos is somehow able to recognize people from the back, which is super useful, but also super confusing.

The settings page for Google Photos on Android has always been particularly overwhelming, and it’s now seeing a much-needed redesign.

As work on Material 3 continues, Google now offers a delightful new carousel component. It might look like the wallpaper shortcut when you long press on the Pixel Launcher, but only the shape is similar there. The full carousel is quite animated.

Generative AI is coming to many Google products, and in Photos, it will power a “Magic Editor” that’s coming later this year. Announced by CEO Sundar Pichai to kick off I/O 2023, it’s pretty impressive if the two examples we have are reflective of the final product.

Search is one of Google Photos’ most underrated features, bringing the ability to look up objects without any prior tagging on your part. Google Photos is now “experimenting” with “more powerful search.”

Teased last year, Google Photos is rolling out a new movie editor/creator for Chromebooks to give ChromeOS a iMovie-esque equivalent.

After debuting Photo Unblur on the Pixel 7 series, Google is preparing a new Video Unblur tool to make your videos look crisp and clear, along with a handful of video effects.

Following last week’s announcement, Magic Eraser is now available on all Pixel phones and for any Google One subscriber, including those on iOS.

In a rather surprising move, Magic Eraser, one of the Pixel’s best features, is coming to any user of Google Photos for Android or iOS if they’re subscribed to Google One. 

Google Photos first rolled out the Locked Folder to Pixel phones before bringing it to other Android devices at the end of 2021, and is now working on adding cloud backup.

On Pixel phones, enabling the Camera app’s RAW+JPEG capture results in an on-device “Raw” folder. Google Photos might soon offer a more integrated experience for RAW images in the app.