Your Google Photos app is about to look different. Here’s what’s changing

By Bryan M. Wolfe Published November 29, 2024

The Google Photos app on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. — Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Google is implementing a small yet significant change to its popular Google Photos app. As first noted by 9to5Google, the app’s “Memories” tab is being removed. Memories is an auto-organizing, scrapbook-like feature that utilizes artificial intelligence to create an AI-powered feed.

Since its release, the Memories tab has been in the bottom bar of the Google Photos app. The Memories tab is being replaced by Moments, which will reside inside the app’s Collections tab. This is where you can find People & pets, Albums, Documents, and Places.

Recommended Videos

With the change, the bottom bar in Google Photos will consist of only three tabs: Photos, Collections, and Search (or Ask if you’re using Google Gemini). After the expected app update for iOS and Android, Memories branding will consist only of the carousel at the top of the app’s primary photos grid.

Google Photos old Memories — 1. Old Memories (on Android)
2. Google Photos New Moments (in iOS)

Google Photos New Moments (in iOS) — 1. Old Memories (on Android)
2. Google Photos New Moments (in iOS)

9to5Google rightly says the new look makes Google Photos navigation much cleaner. A similar change was made to the Google Maps app earlier this year; it too only has three tabs in the bottom bar.

The features remain the same whether it’s called Memories or Moments. This tool functions as a digital scrapbook, showcasing curated collections of your photos and videos from the past. Google’s AI intelligently selects and organizes these memories, making rediscovering special moments such as events, trips, or significant dates easy.

You can personalize these Memories by adding or removing content, editing titles, and changing the featured images. Sharing these nostalgic collections with friends and family is simple, and you have complete control to hide specific Memories, remove photos, or even disable the feature entirely.

Additionally, Memories often include automatically generated creations like collages, animations, or stylized photos, adding a creative touch to your reminiscing.

The latest Google Photos update for the iPhone 16 and other iPhones includes the change, and an Android app update for phones like the Google Pixel 9 is expected to drop on Google Play soon.

Former Mobile and A/V Freelancer

Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

Topics

Phones

Oppo’s Bubble is the fun MagSafe accessory Apple still refuses to make

This tiny selfie screen is MagSafe accessory phones badly need

Oppo Bubble official images with the AMOLED display

Oppo has launched a new phone accessory in China called the Oppo Bubble, and it's surprisingly versatile. It functions like a selfie tool, while also being a tiny rear display, a playful phone add-on, and a fun accessory in general. All of this would have it dominate tech TikTok a few years ago.

Announced alongside the Reno 16 series, the Bubble is a compact magnetic circular display that attaches to the back of supported Oppo smartphones. The tiny gadget basically acts like a secondary screen that helps in taking better selfies, which is honestly handy. It is small, light, and customizable, while also upgrading your selfies or group photos thanks to the better rear cameras. You'd usually have to guess the framing with your rear cameras, but this just makes it work.

Phones

A developer built Quick Share from scratch for phones Google forgot, and it actually works

Bada gives the millions of Android devices locked out of Google's Quick Share a working file-sharing solution.

Electronics, Phone, Mobile Phone

Google's Quick Share is the kind of feature you don't think about until the day you need it and your phone simply doesn't have it. Huawei device owners live in that reality permanently, given that they don’t have access to Google Play services, and so does anyone running the Chinese regional build of Android.

However, a developer with the handle Kyujin-cho just published an open-source Android app called Bada on GitHub that seems to solve exactly this problem. It does so by implementing Google's own Quick Share protocol from scratch, circumventing the lack of Google Play Services.

Phones

Samsung’s next budget flagship just leaked, and here’s what it looks like

The Galaxy S26 FE is months away, but case renders are already here to spill the beans.

A hand holding the Galaxy S25 FE, the screen is on and facing the camera

Samsung has a busy second half of 2026 lined up, with several Galaxy devices in the pipeline. Apart from the expected Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Ultra launch, one of the most anticipated launches aimed at the affordable market is the Galaxy S26 FE.

We are still a few months away from its official debut, but as reported by SammyGuru, a third-party case maker has already listed protective cases for the phone, giving us our first look at its design from multiple angles.