The Google Photos “Memories” feature may soon change significantly as a new “Timeline” function … [+]
The Google Photos “Memories” feature may soon change significantly as a new “Timeline” function replaces it.
Memories is one of the platform’s most popular features, with over half a billion people using the feature each month. However, according to a new report from app expert Assemble Debug, Google may soon replace the Memories tab with a new one called “Timeline.”
The report bases its findings on new lines of code found within the latest version of the Google Photos Android app that includes the following text:
- “Memories is now renamed to Timeline”
- “Add to your Timeline?”
- “Go to your Timeline”
- “Memories has moved to Collections”
Google Photos: Why Change The Memories Tab?
While the report contains little information on what the new tab may contain, we can guess that it will form some sort of curated chronological feed of photos and videos you can add to at any time—much like the existing Memories tab. Indeed, Google may make no changes to the tab other than the new “Timeline” name. Still, there are good reasons why such a name change would make sense. That’s because, as stated above, Memories will soon occupy their own section on the Collections tab.
Google Photos automatically generates Memories for you based on what it thinks are the most meaningful moments in your photo library. Each memory is a small collection of related pictures and videos grouped together by a theme, such as a particular event or under more general descriptions, such as “Trips” or “Best of the Month.”
These Memories are currently presented chronologically in the Memories tab, allowing you to scroll back through time and relive cherished moments. However, this isn’t always the most efficient way to search for a particular memory. For example, a memory called “Trips” would likely contain photos and videos collected over a long period, so there’s no obvious place for it within a timeline view.
With Memories now appearing in the Collections tab, alongside “People and pets,” “On this device,” “Albums,” and “Documents,” users will likely gain a quicker way to search for memories that don’t fit into a timeline view. Each collection type has a customized view to help you browse and filter its contents more easily. Therefore, a new “Memories” collection would likely get the same treatment, allowing you to access different types of memory more quickly without a long scroll through the timeline.
Google Photos: More Changes Incoming
Remember, these are unreleased features assumed to be under test, so there’s no guarantee they’ll roll out to users soon or even at all. Still, the report gives us some insight into the features Google is working on and the types of upgrades we can expect in the future.
The new Timeline tab isn’t the only feature Google is trying out with the latest Google Photos update. There have also been reports of a new, enhanced video player with tactile feedback and features that will make it easier to spot AI-generated images.
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