Google+ is beloved by photographers, both pros and amateurs, for its image-editing and storage tools, but it comes with a side of social networking that some people don’t want. So Google has a new app just for all of those photography features called, appropriately, Photos.
Available today for Android, iOS, and desktop users, Google Photos aims to be the home for all of your images. So Google is offering unlimited free storage and maintaining the original resolution for photos up to 16 megapixels and 1080p videos.
Once Google Photos is your photo database across all devices, the app helps you comb through the thousands of images you meant to cull but never got around to. Machine-learning behind the scenes helps Google sort your photos by people, places, and things without any tagging on your part. It automatically knows who and what is most important to you in each image. You can also search by keyword, and Photos will automatically retrieve images from baseball games and Hawaiian vacations.
To batch delete, save, or edit photos on the go, just press and drag your finger to select the images you want, much like you would on a desktop. A swipe to the left of the app brings up a photos assistant, which automatically edits your photos and videos—an incredibly popular Google+ feature.
All of the images you save and organize in Google Photos are for your eyes only, Google product management director Anil Sabharwal said at Google I/O. But that doesn’t mean you can’t share your images when you’re ready. You can easily post those photos to social networks, or create a web gallery for friends to view and download for their own use if they’re logged in to Google.
It’s unclear what this move means for Google+, if anything, but now people who were wary of signing up for yet another social network will have access to Google’s photo storage and editing tools for free.
Of course, Photos wasn’t the only cool new product Google announced at I/O. For the full rundown about Inbox’s tweaks, the Brillo OS for Internet of Things devices, and a whole lot more, check out Greenbot’s Google I/O landing page. And be sure to vote in our survey below for the major Google I/O announcements that excite you the most.
