Summary
Google Photos is turning 10 years old. It has changed a lot over the past years, but it remains the first choice for photo management for millions of Android phones worldwide, and with good reason. And now, Google is rolling out an anniversary update that adds a few new things to the table.
Google made a series ofGoogle Photos-related announcements for the app’s 10th anniversary. And with those, it’s adding a couple of major additions. Since the photo editor is one of the most used parts of the app, there’s a new, revamped photo editor that, according to Google, centralizes all editing tools into a single interface.
The revamped editor has AI-powered suggestions, which can combine multiple effects depending on the photo in question. Google says that it can leverage AI to figure out what the optimal edits are for a photo, and it can suggest things such as tone and color correction, object erasing, unblurring, and portrait lighting adjustments. You can also tap specific areas of an image, such as the subject or background, to receive context-specific tool recommendations for that particular section. Whether these are any good most of the time remains to be seen, as it’s still AI and it can be hit or miss occasionally, but the concept sounds cool.
Furthermore, tools like “Reimagine” and “Auto frame,” which initially debuted with Magic Editor for Pixel 9, will now be integrated directly alongside standard controls like brightness and contrast. This should also technically mean that they’ll land on more devices, but we’ll probably have to wait a bit for that.
In addition to the editor overhaul, Google Photos is adding a new method for sharing albums: QR codes. This feature lets you generate a QR code that grants instant access to a photo album for people nearby. you’re able to print out these QR codes if you want to share photos from group events, or if you want to share an album with a friend, you can display the QR code on your screen and have that friend scan it. Scanning the code will enable individuals to view the album’s contents or contribute their own photos.
Google also took the chance to flaunt some usage numbers for the occasion. According to the company, the platform is currently driving around 1.5 billion monthly users and storing more than nine trillion photos and videos. Google says that people using the app perform over 370 million searches, share 440 million memories, and edit 210 million photos every month.
These two major updates should land for you within the next few weeks. You might get luckier if you have a Google Pixel phone, but this should technically be available for all users eventually.
