Another Google Photos update is rolling out right now and bumps the app to v3.6. There aren’t any new features to mention but a sneak peek in the app’s code gives us a fair idea of what’s coming. This APK also has some interesting stuff.
Face Detection and Pets
First off, Photos will face-detect your pets better, one line of code seems to suggest. Photos will know when you have new animals in your gallery and notify you about it. The quick search already allows searching for animals and pets but the new update will make Photos proactive about it. However, this is relegated to Cats and Dogs right now. So, you are out of luck if you have other pets from the wild world.
A new ‘Motion’ feature
Another upcoming new feature is called “Motion”. We don’t know what exactly this feature entails but the promo text says, “see your photos come to life.” This might mean that some objects in the photos will become animated. This could be a cloned feature of Apple’s Live Photos. It isn’t clear what the feature might bring but let’s just wait and see. Another line in the code reads, “keep video trimmed to stabilize shaky motion.” This alludes to a feature that will stabilize video footage by cutting off outer edges of video clips.
Google Lens ‘Pixel Preview’
And finally, it came to light in Photos v3.5 that Google Lens was coming. Today’s update points to the fact that it might be exclusive to Pixel 2 devices when it launches or all Pixels. The words “Pixel Preview” is a clear indication of that.
Also, there are new icons underway for four suggested use cases like artwork, books, landmarks, and text.