Google Photos is marking its 10th anniversary with a comprehensive redesign that brings advanced AI editing features previously exclusive to Pixel 9 devices to all users.
The updated photo editor introduces Auto Frame, an AI-powered cropping tool that suggests optimal crops for images and can generate new content to fill gaps when needed.
The feature automatically analyses photos to recommend improved framing and composition.
Google is also expanding access to Reimagine, the controversial AI feature that allows users to add elements like fall leaves or green grass that weren’t originally present in photos.
The Verge previously described this capability as “blurring the line between which of your memories are real and which are not.”
Due to concerns about authenticity, Google recently began watermarking AI-generated content to distinguish it from original photographs.
A new AI Enhance feature provides users with three automatically generated editing options using existing tools like sharpening and object removal.
Users can select their preferred result from the AI-suggested improvements, with the feature positioned alongside existing Enhance and Dynamic editing buttons in the Edit menu.
Beyond AI capabilities, Google Photos is introducing practical sharing improvements, including QR code generation for photo albums.
Users can allow friends to scan QR codes directly or print them for group settings, simplifying album sharing without requiring complex link sharing.
The redesigned editor demonstrates Google’s strategy of democratising advanced AI photo editing tools that were previously limited to premium Pixel hardware.
By expanding these features to the broader Google Photos user base, the company is making sophisticated editing capabilities accessible to millions of users across different device ecosystems.
The Android version of the redesigned editor will launch in June, while Google indicates the iOS version will arrive “later this year.”
The timing reflects Google’s typical rollout pattern of prioritising Android before expanding to competing platforms.
The anniversary update represents Google Photos’ evolution from a simple cloud storage service to a comprehensive AI-powered photo management and editing platform, positioning it as a competitor to Apple’s Photos app and Adobe’s mobile editing tools.
