Just over four weeks ago, Google announced that Photos for Android and iOS would get quite significant updates to two core parts of the app. The Google Photos redesign of the Library tab has now been delayed.
The big change to the Library tab involves Google Photos immediately showing a grid of 10 most recent albums. This includes favorites and your camera roll, while everything else can be sorted by the carousel of filter chips: All, Your albums, On device, and Shared albums.
This is followed by a list to access the shortcuts (Utilities, File, Trash) that previously appeared at the top of your screen.
Back in March, we criticized the new design for being an oversimplification, as by default it stopped distinguishing between folders located on the device and albums in the cloud.
The old design is objectively more complex with both a grid and a carousel. However, I think people understood and appreciated the difference. Meanwhile, moving the 2 × 2 grid of quick actions from top to bottom will give a dull scroll, while no longer guaranteeing Favorites in a static, muscle-memory-friendly position.
Redesign of the Google Photos Library tab
At the time, Google said this new library design would start rolling out the same day. In fact, we saw it on iOS later in the week, complete with an explanation of the changes.
But in recent days, the design has been rolled back on both the iPhone and iPad, while it – as far as we can see – never rolled out for Android.
When Google was asked for a comment, Google told us today that the library tab’s redesign was delayed to allow for “some further changes.” Meanwhile, the Sharing tab – which we find is great for bringing much-needed organization and categorization – is still gradually rolling out on Android over the “next few weeks,” with iOS following suit.
There is a precedent for the Google Photos team to reverse changes in response to “user feedback and comments.” Last May, the Sharing tab was returned to the bottom bar after previously being moved to the top left corner of the app.
Redesigned Sharing tab
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