Google LLC today announced one of the biggest updates to the Google Photos application in years, adding a half-dozen new features — many of them powered by its new image and video generation model, Nano Banana.
The updates were announced in a blog post by Google Photos Senior Director of Product Management Yael Marzan, who explained that the app has already embraced dozens of AI features, including the ability to edit images with a text prompt and ask questions about them. “Now, we’re improving our AI-powered tools and adding new ones,” she said.
The new tools include a “Help Me Edit” feature that lets users edit their photos more extensively by entering a prompt to describe the changes they want to make, Marzan said. As soon as the prompt is entered, Google Photos will work its magic and make the necessary changes. For instance, she said someone might ask the app to remove the sunglasses they’re wearing in a photo, open their eyes and make them smile. Such simple changes are easily handled by Nano Banana, she added, and are unlikely to look like they’ve been edited.
The “Ask Photos” feature that’s already available on Android smartphones is now available on iPhones too, alongside a newly redesigned photo editor within the app. With this, users can edit photos with their voice, search for older images and so on. Marzan said it’s launching on iOS in more than 100 countries over the next few days, and will support 17 languages in total.
As for Nano Banana, this is Google’s highly rated new image generation and photo-to-video model, and it’s now powering Google Photos’ editing tools. It enables users to transform still photos into short videos, or alternatively recreate their images in various artistic styles. For instance, people might ask it to transform a photo of themselves into a cartoon strip or Renaissance-style portrait.
The new “AI templates” can be found in the Create with AI section, which is launching on Android only in the U.S. and India. It provides ready-made templates that help users get started editing without having to think of their own creative prompts. “These new templates are powered by Nano Banana and will help you create images instantly based on popular edits,” Marzan explained, offering examples such as “put me in a high fashion photoshoot,” or “create a professional headshot.”
Finally, Marzan introduced a new “Ask” button that pops up while looking at a specific image within the app. It’s meant to provide users with a quick and easy way to start a conversation with Gemini about the image, ask it to surface related images and so on.
The updates are rolling out to Google Photos in most countries now, and every user should be able to access them this week, Marzan said.
Images: Google
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