Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Photos may soon have a new display option for the built-in image editor.
- Google is experimenting with a light theme in the image editor inside the Photos app.
- While the editor has existed for over a decade — parallel to Google Photos — it has always had a dark theme, with no option to switch.
Google Photos has been around for over a decade and has offered a built-in photo editor throughout that duration. Even though its native photo editor wasn’t initially as sophisticated as Google Snapseed — it only received advanced editing features in 2020 — and did not have AI-backed editing chops until recently, one trait has always remained constant. That is the background color of the editor interface, which has always been dark gray.
Now, Google appears to have finally meditated on it and might be working to add a new light theme.
The upcoming light theme should complement the recently added editor interface and the latest app logo, marking Photos’ entry into the AI era. Despite the usual benefits of a dark theme on the phone’s battery or the user’s eyes, a dark interface in a photo editor may have its disadvantages. Most importantly, it can reduce visibility on the fringes, especially when there’s a silhouette or a dark subject. So, a light theme may allay that issue.
Google appears to be testing this new light theme in Photos version 7.55 on Android, and we were able to wiggle our way into unlocking it. The white background is complemented by buttons in the device’s color scheme. The light mode is visible across the editor as well as the menus for different editing tools.
The interface looks near completion, so we hope the feature rolls out, at least in beta, soon.
The only aspect missing is a manual toggle to switch the theme from light to dark. Currently, the theme corresponds to the global theme on your Android device. We’re unsure whether that’s by design or if Google plans to change that by adding a toggle. However, it’s less likely, especially since there’s no such option in the Google Photos app.
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Incidentally, the video editor, which is also due for an overhaul, has yet to receive a light theme. We don’t know if Google plans to limit the light theme to just still media or extend it to videos too, but will ensure informing you once we see more updates.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
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