Google Photos Introduces New Video Editing Features: What You Need to Know

Estimated read time 7 min read

Google Photos has long been a favorite app for organizing, storing, and editing images. Its user-friendly interface, deep integration with Google’s cloud services, and powerful editing tools have made it indispensable for many users. However, until recently, the app’s video editing capabilities lagged behind other dedicated editing apps. In 2023, Google rolled out significant updates to its video editing suite, giving users more robust tools for crafting visually stunning video content directly within Google Photos.

In this blog post, we will take an in-depth look at these new video editing features, how they enhance the overall user experience, and why they matter for everyday users and content creators alike.


1. A New Era of Video Editing on Google Photos

Traditionally, Google Photos has focused more on image storage and editing, offering advanced photo tools like color adjustment, filters, and cropping options. For videos, the editing tools were basic, limited mostly to trimming, rotating, or stabilizing video clips. The recent update marks a new era for Google Photos, significantly expanding its video editing capabilities.

Google recognized the growing demand for easy-to-use video editing tools, particularly as video content becomes more dominant across social media and sharing platforms. With smartphones becoming users’ primary video creation tool, the need for quick, intuitive video editing has skyrocketed. The update brings Google Photos in line with competing platforms and gives users the ability to do much more with their video content.


2. Key New Features in Google Photos’ Video Editor

With this update, Google Photos has introduced several advanced editing options, making the video editing process more comprehensive and flexible. These features are designed to be user-friendly but also powerful enough to produce high-quality video content.

a. Multi-Clip Editing and Rearranging

Before the update, Google Photos allowed users to trim single video clips, but now, users can merge multiple clips together. The multi-clip editing feature is a game changer, as it allows users to combine multiple videos, reorder them, and create seamless transitions. This is especially useful for content creators looking to create short films, vlogs, or social media posts without the need for a third-party app.

The interface for rearranging clips is smooth and intuitive. Users can simply drag and drop clips in the order they want them to appear in the final video.

b. Adjustments for Brightness, Contrast, and Color

The photo editing features that users have grown to love in Google Photos have now been applied to video. With the update, you can adjust a video’s brightness, contrast, saturation, warmth, and other properties. This makes it possible to correct lighting issues or create consistent looks across multiple clips with just a few taps.

Color grading, once a task reserved for professional video editors, is now available to all users. These adjustments help make your video look more polished and professional, even if you’re working with raw footage shot on a phone.

c. Filters and Effects

Google Photos has expanded its suite of filters and effects to include video editing. You can now apply the same filters available for photos to your videos. Whether you want a vintage look, enhanced colors, or a muted tone, these filters are easy to apply, giving videos an artistic flair with minimal effort.

This feature is perfect for those who are short on time but want to give their videos a professional touch. Expect the library of filters to grow over time as Google continues to enhance the app.

d. Stabilization and Auto-Enhance

One of Google Photos’ standout features in video editing has always been stabilization. Often, handheld videos are shaky, and this tool helps smooth out those shakes, resulting in a more stable, watchable video. While this feature has existed for a while, the recent update has made it more effective, especially for longer clips.

In addition to stabilization, Google Photos now offers an auto-enhance feature for video. Just like its counterpart in photo editing, this feature uses AI to automatically adjust the video’s lighting, color balance, and contrast. It’s a one-tap solution for users who want to improve their videos without manually tweaking settings.


3. Ease of Use: A Focus on Intuitive Design

One of the most important aspects of Google Photos’ updated video editor is its focus on ease of use. Even with the introduction of new, advanced features, Google has ensured that users of all skill levels can still edit their videos efficiently.

The new tools are laid out in a simple and accessible manner. The editing interface has been designed to be intuitive, allowing users to make adjustments without needing a steep learning curve. Each feature is clearly labeled, and any edits can be previewed in real-time before saving.

This ease of use is crucial, as it means even casual users who may not have experience with video editing can create polished, professional-looking videos in minutes.


4. Integration with Google’s Ecosystem

As part of Google’s larger ecosystem, Google Photos has the advantage of seamless integration with other Google services, especially Google Drive and Google One. Users who take advantage of Google’s cloud storage offerings can easily access their videos from any device, edit them, and then share them instantly.

For users subscribed to Google One, the new video editing tools may come with even more benefits, such as enhanced editing options or access to exclusive features. Moreover, videos edited on one device can be accessed and further refined on another device, ensuring workflow continuity.


5. The Role of AI in Video Editing

Google has been investing heavily in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and these technologies play a critical role in the updated Google Photos video editor. The auto-enhance feature, for example, uses AI to analyze video content and make optimal adjustments.

As AI continues to evolve, we can expect even more intelligent features to be added to Google Photos, such as automatic scene detection, smarter object tracking, and real-time AI-powered filters. For now, AI-driven enhancements in the app make video editing faster and more accessible for users who don’t want to dive into manual editing.


6. Why These Updates Matter

The update to Google Photos’ video editor is significant for a number of reasons. First, it brings Google Photos into direct competition with other all-in-one mobile video editing apps like iMovie and Adobe Premiere Rush. It offers a powerful set of tools without sacrificing ease of use, and it’s available for free to millions of users.

Second, these updates are crucial for content creators who are always on the go. The ability to shoot, edit, and share high-quality videos all within a single app saves time and effort. With smartphones becoming increasingly capable of recording 4K or even 8K video, having an efficient and powerful editing app built-in becomes a necessity.

Finally, the update highlights Google’s commitment to improving user experiences within its ecosystem. The continued investment in Google Photos ensures that it remains a key player not only in photo management but also in video editing.


Conclusion

The new video editing features in Google Photos are a welcome upgrade for both casual users and content creators. With more robust tools like multi-clip editing, advanced adjustments, and AI-powered enhancements, users can now create professional-looking videos without needing to download a separate app.

As video content continues to dominate social media and online platforms, having access to simple yet powerful video editing tools is more important than ever. Google Photos, with its updated video editor, is well-positioned to meet the needs of modern users, allowing them to create, edit, and share stunning videos directly from their mobile devices.

İbrahim Korucuoğlu

The author shares useful content he has compiled in the field of informatics and technology in this blog.