ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Google has introduced a new Create tab for Photos.
- Create hosts editing tools that let you get creative with photos.
- The tab is available for Android and iOS versions of the app.
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Google Photos is making it easier to get creative with your photos.
In an announcement today<!–>, Google said there’s a new “go to destination” for creation tools – the Create tab.
Also: This hidden Pixel camera setting gave my photos the pop they’ve been missing
Both the Android and iOS versions of the app are getting a new Create tab that will appear alongside the existing Photos, Collections, and Ask tabs. These tools go beyond the basic editing tools that let you tinker with contrast, add filters, and crop. In fact, most of the tools let you make a photo into something that isn’t a photo – like add 3D effects to a picture, turn a photo into a video, create collages, or transform your photo into new art styles.
New ‘Create’ tab has 6 different editing options
You’ll find six different options to edit your photos:
- Animations: Creates a quick-moving GIF of selected photos and videos.
- Cinematic photos: Adds a 3D effect to any photo.
- Collage: Combines multiple photos into a creative, stylish layout.
- Highlight videos: Takes photos and videos and combines them into a highlight video with music.
- Photo to video: Animates any photo, turning a static shot into a dynamic, six-second video clip.
- Remix: Transforms your photos into different styles like anime, comic, 3D animation, or sketch.
These actual features aren’t new, but the tab that contains them is. Today’s change makes these tools much easier to find.
Also: How to customize your Google Search results to see your favorite sites first
The Gemini app got a similar photo-to-video capability in July, and while it has some odd glitches, ZDNET Senior Contributing Writer Tiernan Ray said it was “disconcerting how well it works.”
PSA
By the way, if you go to check out the new tab, see the AI-powered Ask tab, and remember how much you hate it (ZDNET’s Sabrina Ortiz was surprised at how bad it is), know that it is possible to turn it off.
Also: 10 must-try Google Photos tips and tricks – including a new AI editor
There’s an option to do away with Gemini in Photos that takes you back to the classic search.
Availability
Google didn’t offer a timeline for the feature, only saying that it has added the new tab to Photos. I didn’t see it yet on my Pixel 9 Pro or my wife’s Pixel 9a, though.
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