What you need to know
- Amazon is launching a new UI for its Photos app on Android.
- The app now includes a control panel to easily filter through images.
- Menu items like the account view and sharing are now hidden in two new icons.
- The new UI was first rolled out to iOS devices in 2021.
If you weren't aware, Amazon has its own cloud photo storage app that competes with Google's offering, and the app is getting a new look for Android.
The new look puts the focus primarily on photos. The main view is no longer crowded with navigation tabs and menus, with the gallery taking center stage in the experience. The redesign is meant to ensure that everything you need is "within thumb's reach."
The lower navigation bar has been replaced with a new control panel that makes it easy to quickly filter your photos by date, people, places, and more. This is also where you can access curated features like daily memories.
There are two floating buttons that give users access to menu items. The floating smile button takes you to your account, uploads, and other settings. The print menu is also located here, letting you create high-quality prints from within the app. Meanwhile, the paper airplane icon takes you to the sharing page where you can "privately share photos and videos with loved ones."
If you're a Prime subscriber, you'll still get unlimited full-resolution photo storage, along with 5GB of video storage. It's not a bad deal, especially if you're a Prime subscriber looking for an alternative to Google Photos, which no longer offers unlimited full-quality photo storage. That said, a Google One subscription gives you access to plenty of impressive editing features, and Google Photos is still a pretty formidable app even without the subscription.
This update might look a bit familiar to iPhone owners. This is actually the same overhaul that rolled out this time last year for iOS devices. For some reason, it's only just now appearing for Android phones. Better late than never, I suppose.
The Amazon Photos update should start rolling out to Android devices on Tuesday.
