Google Photos brings redesigned Memories, new collage editor, and more

Google is rolling out a feature to its Photos app that will allow users to share their entire Memories with family and friends in a few easy steps.

By Sumit Roy

September 16, 2022 at 4:12 pm

1 minute read

131 comments

Google Photos app is getting new features, including a redesigned Memories experience, end-to-end cinematic experience, styles, Memory sharing, easy editing tools, and a new collage editor. The update is currently rolling out to Android and iOS users. However, the share memories feature is rolling out only to Android users and will be available for iOS and web users soon.

Google is bringing a redesigned Memories experience to its Photos app that will show more videos, including snippets from longer videos. The Photos app will automatically select and trim the best portion from the long videos. The still images will feel more vibrant with the new subtle zoom feature. Next month, the company will start adding instrumental music to Memories. Users can also hide specific photos, people, and time periods from showing up in their Memories.

Google added cinematic photos visual effects back in 2020, which gives moving, 3D representations of still images shown in Memories. Now the users will notice the full cinematic Memories that transform many still pictures into an end-to-end cinematic experience along with the music. Further, the company is rolling out a new feature called Styles which automatically adds graphic art to Memories. Several designs will be available at launch, including the limited-time styles from featured artists Shantell Martin and Lisa Congdon.

Memories in Google Photos are private and are visible only to the user. However, the company is now rolling out a feature to share the entire Memories with family and friends in a few easy steps. The feature will be available to web and iOS users soon. Google also is adding a host of new creative editing tools to the Google Photos app, including Smart suggestions and Real tone filters.

Alongside this, a new collage editor lets users easily create shareable collages. Users can select photos, design, and rearrange the layout with simple drag-and-drop controls. It is also possible to edit pictures, including adjusting brightness, contrast, or applying filters, right from the collage editor. Pixel and Google One users will also get access to additional editing features, such as Portrait Light, HDR, and over 30 designs.

Google Photos is available for Android and iOS users via Play Store and Apple app store. Users can also access it on the web by visiting photos.google.com.

Posted in:

Apps News

Tags:

Google Google Photos

Sumit Roy

Editor-in-chief

1109 articles published

Sumit is the Editor-in-chief at OnlyTech. He loves to cover news about Windows PCs, Android, Smart Devices, and more. You can always find him experimenting with electronic devices when not in front of a computer.

Oppo F21s Pro and F21s Pro 5G with 6.43-inch display, 4500mAh battery launched in India

Disney+ Hotstar now supports Dolby Atmos on TVs, Android, and iOS devices

Visit our forums

Join the discussions with thousands of active members who share the same interests as you and learn something new…

OnlyTech Forums

Forum replies (131)Comments (0)

131 replies

Join the discussion →

Loading new replies...

Siva May 30, 2015 #1

Finally, the photos app you've been waiting for.

You can have your Android M, your Brillo, your Cardboard and any of the other products announced at Google's I/O developer conference yesterday.

I just need Google Photos, a product I've been waiting for to create order out of my sprawling photo library. I have used Picasa for years to share photos with family, but it wasn't a great fit for backing up photos as I began to use my iPhone more and my dSLR less. And I didn't like Google+ trying to overthrow Picasa as my go-to online photo repository. But all is forgiven with the launch of Google Photos, which is frighteningly effective.

Google Photos works across a number of platforms: Android, iOS and on the Web. Like the Google Drive or Google+ apps before it, you can set the Google Photos mobile app up to backup the photos and videos you take on your phone. And like Drive and G+, Google Photos provides free unlimited storage when you opt for the High quality setting, which means full-res photos up to an ample 16-megapixel limit and HD videos up to 1080p. If you are dead set against any sort of compression, then you can choose Original, which saves full-resolution files that will count against your Google storage plan.

I have been using the Google Photos iOS app and the Web app and finally feel like I have a handle on my photo library, mostly because I'm terrible about organizing my photos and Google Photos does the heavy lifting for me. When I signed into my Google account, my old albums from Picasa were there along with all of the photos from my iPhone because I use the auto backup feature on the Google Drive app. Now, I can turn that off in Google Drive and use the Back up & sync setting in Google Photos.

On both the Web and iOS apps, Google Photos has three main views: Assistant, Photos and Collections. You can use the menu button in the upper-left corner to navigate between these three views or you can just swipe sideways to go from one to the other.

On the iOS app, you can pinch to zoom on the Photos view to drill down from year to month to day. There are basic edit tools, including an Auto adjust option and filters.

The Assistant view, according to Google, is where it will "suggest new things made with your photos and videos, such as a collage or a story based on a recent trip you took. After previewing the creation, you can choose to keep, edit, or discard it." The Assistant has yet to assist me, only telling me that I'm all caught up and to go take some pictures. I'm sure as I use the app more, my Assistant will hop to it.

Collections view contains your albums, movies and stories. Stories are albums that feature both photos and videos, and Google will take the initiative and create some stories for you. You can also create your own projects in one of five ways: Album, Movie, Story, Animation and Collage.

What I like most about Google Photos, other than it being its own app and not wedged into Drive or Google+ is its impressive search functionality which, given the developer, should come as no surprise. It also includes frighteningly accurate facial recognition software, which traced each of my kids back to baby photos when they looked more like generic babies than actual individuals.

In addition to People, Google Photos also lets you search your photo by Places and Things. Places uses location data to group photos so you can see photos of a trip you made without needing to first creating an album. More impressive is the Things category which lets you search for photo of forests, food, stadiums, dancing and much more.

Sharing is impressively easy with Google Photos too.

To share a group of photos does not require you first to create an album. You simply need to select a group of photos and ask for a link. (And, selecting photos does not require incessant tapping; instead you can tap and hold and then drag to select a block of photos.)

On the Web app, click the share button at the top when you have a group of photo selected and click Get sharable link. On the iOS app, select your photos, tap the share button and then tap Copy Link to Clipboard. You will then be able to paste the link into an email, and your recipient will not need any special app or login to view your photos.

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/getting-started-with-google-photos/

Reply 3 Likes

click to expand...

Siva May 31, 2015 #2

I have started using this app and it's just amazing. The collages, animations and videos it automatically create are awesome. I was able to upload around 15000 pictures and videos in a day. The 16MP and 1080p limit for unlimited storage is more than enough for most users I guess. Google has definitely done this right.

Reply 2 Likes

Join the full discussion at the OnlyTech Forums →