Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Photos v7.66 includes code that enables manual photo stacking on Android, a feature previously exclusive to iOS.
- We also managed to enable immersive UI featuring a floating navigation bar and a gradient status bar.
- Further, we enabled Google’s “Expressive UI” redesign to more parts of the Backup sub-menu.
Google Photos is one of the best apps you can install on your Android phone. Ironically, the iOS version of Google Photos has newer features like the floating navigation bar that haven’t yet made their way to the Android app, even though they were shown off as part of Android’s new Expressive UI redesign. Google is starting to put its weight behind the Android version of the Photos app as it finally prepares to catch up, as per various code spotted in the latest Google Photos v7.66 app update.
Manual Photo Stacks could be coming soon to Android
Back in late 2023, Google Photos introduced “Photo Stacks,” automatically clubbing and stacking multiple similar photos taken around the same time. This was a great addition that made your photo library look cleaner, drastically reducing clutter without affecting your photo collection.
This automatic stacking isn’t perfect, though. Google introduced Manual Photo Stacks last year to give users more control over their photo library, allowing them to create stacks manually. However, so far, this feature has remained exclusive to the iOS app.
In Google Photos v7.66, we’ve managed to enable Manual Photo Stacks, and it works the same way as on iOS. When the feature rolls out, users will be able to select multiple photos from their feed and tap the “Stack photos” option from the bottom sheet to manually create a photo stack.
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
Given the state of completion, we hope to see this feature rolled out very soon.
Google Photos’ immersive UI is also coming soon
Similarly, Google has rolled out the floating navigation bar in the iOS app, but the Android app hasn’t received it yet. We’ve managed to enable a newer version of the immersive UI with a floating navigation bar, where the status bar now features a gradient for an edge-to-edge experience.
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
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Google has been chipping away at this task for a while, so we hope to see this roll out soon alongside the other changes mentioned.
⚠️ 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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