Software
Google Photos is getting a map view as part of a major new design
Five years later, Google Photos is becoming the dominant photo storage solutions across platforms. Google said that this refreshed look with fresh ways to navigate the app and a streamlined pinwheel icon is meant to better illustrate your favorite old images. It also responds to Google's top feature request: a map view that allows you to explore the photos and videos you take locally.
Many people love the product, and the reason they love it's different from what we've first designed it for, said David Lieb, Google Photos product manager.
That idea of nostalgia and reminiscent of your pictures are what you really love. So we decided to lean into it in this redesign. In the long run, we believe that is Google Photos' unique and lasting value.
The new Google Photos opens to the Photos tab, which simply contains both ancient and new shots. On the top, you will see a private archive of Memories, which you are browsing like Instagram Stories, from your old photos. In addition to the photos from years ago you will also view a new section called "Recent highlights" in Memory. (Last year, the feature has more than 120 million monthly users, the company said.)
This is Google 's task to demonstrate the best of your recent shots, as well as automated creations such as collages and animations the app creates. (These creations appeared previously in an ongoing tab called For You.
Below memories, you will see your new photos with some subtle modifications to their design and positioning in reverse chronological order. Google Photos now guesses automatedly which images you'll probably find most interesting, broadening them when scrolling. Expect to have more prominent photos of pictures, babies and landmarks that show receipts, parking spaces and whiteboard pictures.
The space between grid photos was reduced by Google too.
The search tab shows Google's learning capabilities, which are powerful in ways people who only sometimes use pictures may not have fully understood. The top of the tab shows you the people and animals that most frequently appear in your pictures and videes. This is for me one of the best ways to navigate the app.
Below is a new view of Places that enables you to browse your photos and videos on a map. Tap 'Everybody looks' on the sites and you can see a grid of places where you have taken a lot of pictures and you'll see a clever two sided view when you tap into one.
The map above is provided by Google, where the most photos and pictures you took are displayed. The pictures on the map below are grid. Tap a hotspot on the map and you will only see the photos on the hotspot. The grid below will change. This is a quick, fun way of navigating a place and reminding yourself of things in a specific area.
You want to see your both photographs and the map simultaneously when you look at your photos on a map, Lieb said. And nobody does this way, surprisingly.
Search also provides a smart "things" view to capture your interests-related photos.
I was happy to find that Google had created a new "baking" tab for me to look back at my most recent creations after spending the previous few months making pandemic cookies. You can also find specific categories, including screenshots, Selfies, videos and automated Google creations, in your archive.
A printer to turn your photos into print and books, a link with utilities like a photo-Scanner and an animation-making tool, access to your photos you have removed and a list of your albums. The last tab is called Library, and it's a picture bag.
If it had no somewhat awkward messaging feature, it wouldn't be a Google app.
Tap the talk bubble at the top of the application and you'll see a list and conversations you had with friends about photos you shared. In theory rather than practice, I've found Photos Messaging more useful. The fact that Google does not link images to real identities hampers it, and it is therefore difficult to understand who my friends and family are. (In addition, sending quick pictures or two via SMS or other social app is usually easier.)
After months of sheltering, I found myself taking less than normal photos, but Lieb said photos are still used during the pandemic. You do want to record what happened in your life even when you're stuck at home, said Lieb. Today, therefore, we see people do more.
The redesign of Google Photos is now being implemented on Android and iOS.
