Google is celebrating 10 years of Google Photos by introducing a redesign of the Photos editor, including helpful new tools. The Photos editor gets some AI editing features previously available only on Pixel phones as part of its generative AI Magic Editor. The Photos platform is also expanding access to its AI-powered text-to-image Reimagine and automatic framing and related features first introduced with the Pixel 9. The company explains there are currently more than 1.5 billion monthly Photos users that have stored 9+ trillion photos and videos. The updates reflect Google’s AI push as it continues to integrate Gemini across its growing family of products and services.

Ars Technica points out a Google stat that indicates the editor is used to configure “more than 210 million images” each month and posits the AI infusion adds value and may result in the editor becoming “one of Google’s most used AI features.”

“Google says the new Photos editor uses AI to make ‘helpful suggestions’ for your pics,” with all the editing tools conveniently collected in one place, according to Ars Technica.

Using AI in the Photos app can trigger various general suggestions for edits that can improve a frame or users can indicate a specific area of a frame by tapping or circling and focus the helpful hints.

“The Auto Frame tool, located in the top left of the redesigned editor, suggests different compositions that crop or widen images, using generative AI to fill in any blank spaces,” The Verge writes, adding that “the Reimagine feature goes a step further by allowing users to add anything to their photos by just describing it” (with the caveat that the results “can be a little concerning at times”).

Google has given Photos the ability to “share albums instantly with QR codes,” explaining in a blog post that “you can generate a QR code for easy album access with people nearby or print it for group events. Anyone can just scan the code and view or add photos.” And there is a Collections tab on Places that lets you relive your memories, even having “photos geographically pinned on an interactive map” so you tour them in an orderly fashion.

The Google Photos editor redesign will be available for Android next month and iOS to follow. The app is also “set for a Material 3 Expressive redesign,” notes 9to5Google, a reference to the Alphabet company’s open-source design platform for products ranging from Gmail to Fitbit.

Related:
I Found a Self-Hosted Private Google Photos Alternative and I Can’t Stop Raving About It, Android Police, 6/1/25
Google Photos vs. iCloud: Which Should You Use for Your Photos?, Tom’s Guide, 6/2/25