Microsoft has initiated a major overhaul of the Photos app for Windows 11, which is currently available for Windows Insider members. The company expects to roll out the updated application to all Windows 11 users later this year.
The redesigned Gallery interface allows users to view photos and videos from local storage, OneDrive, and Apple iCloud in a single location. New organizational features include automatic grouping of OneDrive content into seasonal collections and slideshows.
The search functionality has been upgraded to support natural language queries, such as descriptions of scenes, and allows filtering by people or storage location. The photo editor has been rebuilt using WinUI 3, resulting in a 25% faster startup time.
New AI-powered editing tools include an object removal feature for clearing unwanted elements and a Relight tool that supports up to three virtual light sources with adjustable color, brightness, and direction.
The update improves support for HDR, HEIC, and WebP formats, allowing edits to be saved while maintaining the original file format. The image viewer startup speed has increased by 15%, with HEIC file opening times improving by up to 30%.
