Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Photos is getting a new editor, which we heard would roll out globally in June.
- While a small group of testers does have access, most of us should expect to now see the editor arrive in August.
- Google explains it’s taking a deliberate place to the rollout to ensure the best experience for users.
Google Photos recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, and while we’re thankful for all the memories it’s helped us preserve along the way, we were also very excited to hear about what’s coming next, with promises of a bold new editing experience about to roll out. When sharing the news back in May, Google communicated that initial access would get underway for Android users in June, with iOS support following later. We’re soundly into July by this point, and still haven’t seen the new editor. So what gives?
Google was planning to at least get access to the new editor going at some point in June, and even talked about “global” availability. But by the end up the month we were unable to uncover any reports of users who had actually gotten access to the new editor. Well — officially at least, since we were able to coax the app into giving us an early peek. But the question remained: Had Google’s distribution plans for the new Photos editor changed?
We reached out to Google with just that question, and the company now confirms to Android Authority that most users will be getting access in August.
According to Google, the new editor actually has been rolling out publicly, albeit to only a very small group at the moment. The company explains:
This is a major redesign for our editor — providing all new helpful suggestions and bringing all our powerful editing tools together in one place — so we are taking our time rolling it out and making sure that it is working well for users before bringing it to everyone.
For everyone hoping to edit all their July beach pics with this new experience, that’s a small bummer, but there’s still ample time for beaching in August, and while delays always suck, we appreciate Google doing the work to make sure the new editor works as well as possible for all the millions of Photos users out there by the time it arrives.
