Here’s a nice little surprise: Google silently made the Google Photos UI more optimized on tablets. The appearance of the update brings the tablet version of the app more in line with what you would find on the desktop.
Before, Google Photos on tablets looked a lot like Google was content to provide the same app that you would find on smartphones. This meant a bottom bar with three shortcuts for Photos, Search and Library. Although these shortcuts work well on a phone, the bar does not really take advantage of the extra space on the tablet screen.
The new Google Photos interface for Android tablets. Images via: 9to5Google
Now, the more optimized Google Photos user interface removes the bottom bar and instead features a sidebar that includes quick links to Photos, Explore, Archive, Trash and more. It’s a much better use of a tablet’s screen size. There is also an upper search bar. The updated UI may look slightly different depending on your tablet’s screen size, according to 9to5Google.
It appears that the new Google Photos UI is being implemented slowly on Android, although it is not yet widely available. As for users who own an iPad, it doesn’t look like the update was released for iOS – at least not yet. Hopefully, the update will reach more tablets in the coming days, because the user interface looks much better.
Google Photos has been featured a few times in the past year for good and bad reasons. The service underwent its major overhaul last summer, adding features like map view and a user interface that seemed much more enjoyable to use. But the service also angered fans when Google announced that it would stop offering unlimited free storage starting this summer.
You still have several months before the new policy goes into effect, and yet Google says it should be a while before the average user fills up their 15 GB of free storage space. But taking one of the best benefits of Google Photos still hurts.