Google, today, announced a slew of updates that mostly impact emerging markets like Brazil. Out of those announcements was a pretty interesting one about Google Photos. And that is the fact that users will now be able to backup their photos even faster than before, and that’s on slower connections as well. The way Google is doing this, is by automatically backing up a lightweight preview version of the photo that is quick to backup even on a 2G connection, but also looks great on a small screen like those on smartphones. Then when a good Wi-Fi connection is available, Google Photos will back up your photos and replace the lightweight ones with high-quality photos.
Additionally, Google is also making it easier to share multiple photos at once, even with low connectivity. This includes spending the day at the beach, or perhaps in an area that doesn’t have great coverage. Allowing you to still share your favorite photos with people you want to show them too. This works similar to the changes in backing up photos. Where Google Photos will first send a low-resolution image to the recipients, and then they’ll update to the high-resolution version when connectivity returns.
Both of these changes to Google Photos are actually a pretty big deal. Not just for Brazil, but for everyone. Even in larger, more developed countries like the US and Canada, there are still spots where connections are slow or non-existent. And with this update, users will still be able to share their photos with other people, and also back up their photos to Google Photos in general. Google will likely be rolling out more features like this in the near future, with those in areas with slower connections in mind. This is all part of Google attempting to get the next million users on Android and online. The majority of people still using feature phones currently, are those in areas that don’t have internet, or have very slow internet. And that’s something Google is also trying to change with Project Loon. Of course, the real reason for Google making these changes is to gain more users, and serve up even more ads.