Google has started to roll out “Year in Review” for users of Google Photos. The feature will appear in the Memories carousel on the Google Photos app for Android and iOS.
Google is ditching the tradition of offering “Best of” the past year. Usually, Google names the creation ‘Best of 2019′ or ‘Best of 2018′. However, understanding that 2020 hasn’t been the best for many, the search giant is offering a humbler ‘Year in Review’ instead.
Google builds on Memories in Google Photos with ‘Year in Review’ feature:
Google had made some serious changes and improvements to the Google Photos platforms. The search giant announced the carousel at the top of Photos would add more memories and designs.
In addition to the changes, Google is also offering users their Year in Review. The feature also offers to generate a 2020 photo book. It has started appearing for a few users. However, the feature is still not widely available.
Google photos put together a "year-in-review" photobook for me and it is 99% pictures of my cat 😸
— Jen Sebring (they/them) (@JenHSebring) December 30, 2020
Strangely, Google is restricting the availability of the Year in Review to the smartphone app of Google Photos available for Android and iOS users. It is not available for Google Photos on the Web.
As mentioned above, there’s a subtle change to the naming of the feature this year. Instead of ‘Best of 2019′ or ‘Best of 2018′, the year 2020 simply gets a very basic “Year in Review”.
However, the Year in Review is just a placeholder. Users can easily change the book name to whatever they choose.
How to use the Year in Review for Google Photos?
Once commonly available, “Year in Review” will appear first in the Memories carousel on Android and iOS apps. Instead of the usual “Look back at this day/week” in previous years or recent highlights, the feature is essentially a recap from the past 12 months.
Users can tap the edges to navigate backward/forward. Pressing and holding the image pauses the process. The date and location of each photo is mentioned at the top. Users also get Share and Overflow buttons in the corner to “View all photos from this day.”
Google Photos wraps up 2020 memories with Year in Review https://t.co/Dd0w2qiIxb pic.twitter.com/PjNtXRv5nl
— Android Police (@AndroidPolice) December 31, 2020
The most used feature of the Google Photos Year in Review will undoubtedly be the ‘Preview Book’. The Preview Book button lets users create an ‘Annual Photo Book’ with their pictures from the year. Users can easily edit the book by adding and deleting photos from each page. The Preview book has a ‘Cover and spine’ and an ‘Inside cover’. Users can edit these minor aspects as well.
Google has been adding many features to the Google Photos apps and platform. The company recently added new themes for Memories. These AI-driven themes include photos of ‘the most important people in your life,’ moments like sunsets, and favorite activities such as biking, based on the photos that users upload regularly.
Google also added a new feature called Cinematic photos. The feature lets Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms study the image. It can then add depth and produce a 3D representation of the scene. The feature essentially animates the otherwise still image with a smooth camera panning effect.