Google Photos Introduces Collage Editor, Revamps Memories Feature

Google Photos has released a significant update that adds new ways to share and enjoy the best moments from your photo library.

Announced on the Google Photos blog, the new update brings Google’s biggest ever upgrade to Memories. Memories is one of the service’s most popular features, currently receiving over 3.5 billion views per month according to Google’s own figures.

Additionally, an all new collage editor has been introduced, allowing users to create scrapbook-style collages, complete with a selection of pre-made artistic styles to choose from.

The new-look Memories experience, rolling out now, puts a greater emphasis on video and will automatically search your longer videos for the ‘best snippets’ so you can enjoy the most important moments without having to watch a whole recording.

Photo Memories are also getting a minor visual upgrade with the addition of a subtle zoom. Still images in Memories will now gently zoom in or out depending on their content.

For example, a portrait might very slowly zoom in to focus attention on the subject, while a landscape image might zoom out slightly to enhance the feeling of space. The zoom effect is sometimes barely noticeable, but even this tiny amount of motion makes any transitions between photos and video clips feel smoother.

Google Photos is also upgrading Cinematic Photos which add more dramatic motion and 3D effects to still images. Now, in addition to individual Cinematic Photos appearing from time to time, you’ll also get longer Cinematic Memories that combine multiple Cinematic Photos into an extended memory with added background music.

A new Styles feature will also add graphic art and new backgrounds to images, lending them a cohesive design-lead look and feel. The selection of styles will be expanded over time, occasionally supplemented by limited edition styles that remain available only for a fixed time period.

Improved Sharing

In response to popular demand, Android users finally have a new way to share whole Memories in one go. Previously, tapping the share icon allowed you to select and share individual images or videos from within Memories, but now it’s possible to share entire Memories in one go. The feature is also ‘coming soon’ to iOS and Web users, according to Google.

New Collage Editor

Lastly, Google has now added an enhanced collage editor, right into Google Photo,s that lets you create attractive layouts with artistic designs and backgrounds such as sticker or filmstrip effects. This means you’ll be able to create personalized collages without having to switch to a stand-alone collage app like Picsart or Ribbet. As usual, paying Google One subscribers gain access to additional editing features and designs.

It’s great to see Google Photos continually innovating and adding new features, even if some of them seem to serve more as an incentive to pay for a Google One subscription. Unfortunately, there are still many basic features missing, like not being able to select all the ‘liked’ photos in an album.

September 16, 2022