Google Photos Logo (Photo : Facebook)
A Google Photos update will feature new tweaks and features to the backup and storage service based on its Android application package (APK). The changes are just in time for the first birthday of the photo/video-sharing site and include unlimited free storage for photos and videos uploaded from Nexus devices. It will end caps for photo sizes and video resolution, and allow them to be backed up at their original sizes.
Google Photos now limits photo sizes at 16 megapixels and videos at full HD resolution, according to CNET. The change allows for future high megapixel Nexus cameras, and the Nexus 6P and 5X that can capture video in 4K Ultra High definition (UHD) resolution.
It seems that Google Photos could also get internal adjustment tools for exposure and contrast.
Google Photos was launched on May 28, 2015. Since then the service has racked up 2 trillion labels including 24 billion selfies, according to Engadget.
A major feature of the storage service is that it has freed up 13.7 petabytes of storage space on smartphones. That is among its 200 million users.
One drawback of the service is that original quality photos/videos count against a person's overall Google storage. Thus, the tweak for Nexus device owners would be a welcome change.
The Alphabet company unveiled its new voice assistant named Google Assistant at the recent I/O dev conference. Photos head Anil Sabharwal shared with BuzzFeed News that in the future Google Assistant could handle tasks such as deleting blurry shots or duplicate photos.
Sabharwal explained that many people using the Google app live in developing countries. Thus, such upgrades could free up space on mobile phones with limited storage.
Google Assistant might also organize photos into theme groupings, such as beaches. It could also group people using facial recognition software, and allow users to search for all images of certain people in beach pictures, for example.
Google Photos will also be able to group photos into albums, collages, GIFs, and movies.
Sabharwal also noted that the company will roll out improvements to proximity sharing through Bluetooth, which does not count towards mobile data caps. That should increase the 25 million photo transfers per week.
Here's a tutorial for Google Photos:
