I’ll be the first to say that I never use the Google Photos app on my Chromebook. Telephone? Yes, all the time, actually. But on a larger screen, the phone’s enlarged interface has long been in the background compared to the most elegant web interface for me. Sure, editing is not so good on the web and there are some subtleties that you miss, but for the general viewing, sharing and album creation activities that I usually use Google Photos for, the web has been doing well.
A new update to the Android app might just change that for me and, if you’re like me, for you too. While it may be account-based at the moment, it looks like a new large-screen friendly app interface for Google Photos has been released in the latest update and I’m really enjoying the new layout on my Chromebook.
The biggest change is the movement of the navigation elements to the left side of the screen, as we see in the work area. It’s not a huge difference, but it helps to unify the feeling of the service when comparing web and application interfaces. Overall, the app now seems to be more at home on a big screen, which means more users can keep it close. To organize your media on your device, keep your backup, and do some quick photo edits and basic video clippings, the Google Photos app is great to have on a Chromebook.
Google Photos on the web (left) vs. Android app (right)
What it all makes me really want is a full integration of Google Photos in the form of a PWA integrated with Chrome OS. I would like to be able to access my photos right from my Archives app and would love for web-based Google Photos to have all the editing tools that the Android app has. Until that reality comes true, it’s good to have an Android app that works so well on the desktop, is very easy to navigate and has some more powerful editing tools for Chromebook users with touch screens and USI pens.
SOURCE: 9to5 Google