Why it matters to you
Google’s apps are a little hit-and-miss — but if it’s good, the next big photo app could allow you to share and edit photos with your friends.
Google is working on yet another app. One of the company’s most-loved apps is Google Photos and it offers excellent options for photo editing, storing, and sharing — but it looks like Photos isn’t the only photo-based app Google is concerned with.
Reports indicate that the company working on another app, this time specifically for photo editing and sharing. Why? Well, it could be because of the pressure posed by the other large tech companies. Facebook, for example, offers Moments — and Google’s new app could be similar. The news comes from a TechCrunch report, which notes that the app allows groups to edit photos together, then organize them.
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In another report, from Engadget, a Google spokesperson noted that the new app is just an experiment — so it’s possible it may not even see the light of day. In fact, Google doesn’t currently have launch plans, although that could, of course, change.
It’s important to note that reports indicate this won’t just be “another messaging app.” Rather, it will be aimed at collaborative photo editing — along with a splash of Google’s computer expertise.
Reports also note that the new app sounds very similar to Paths, an app that gained popularity for offering small groups of friends to share photos and chat. At the time, it acted kind of like a counterbalance to the more open sharing that had gained popularity on Facebook and Twitter. Incidentally, Google previously tried to buy Path. In the end, however, it was sold to Kakao, a Korean messaging giant, and its popularity has slowly but surely shrunk.
It will be interesting to see what Google’s new app ends up looking like if we ever see it at all. Google has a spotty history in social media, after all. It’s also possible that the features in the new app will end up being baked into Google Photos. We’ll just have to wait and see.