At the end of June, Google Photos introduced a major mobile redesign for Android and iOS. It did not impress everyone but now a new update is rolling out across the web with some more navigation redesigns as reported by 9to5.
This includes removing the ‘Hamburger’ button as well as a number of other subtle design changes. This follows a mute toggle being introduced onto the mobile version of Photos at the end of June as well.
Mobile redesign for Google Photos
There are a number of subtle but important changes to the design of Google Photos that have streamlined web navigation.
The mobile redesign removed to the bottom bar and in a similar move, the web versions hs removed the compact rail.
It has also got rid of the navigation bar for a more uniform sidebar. In this sidebar “Photos,” “Sharing,” “For you,” and “Print store” are the primary sections.
“Albums” now comes under “Library” along with “Utilities,” “Archive,” and “Trash.” The “Settings” tab is now also always available in the top-right corner.
This all seems like quite a sensible move. Most users probably never really clicked the hamburger bottom and rarely interacted with that navigation rail. This redesign is useful as it continues to make everything easily available but in a more uniform and compact way.
Still some downsides to the changes
It is not all good news. As some were disappointed with the mobile redesign, these changes will also anger a few as they are certainly not perfect. The changes made result in a shrunken horizontal gallery area. The impact is not massive but it is noticeable so for some this will be a problem.
Additionally, the “Create” button, which was next to the search field, has also been removed. It also looks like a lot of the icons are lacking color so the changes do not look the best.
Also if you upload in original quality, you will see a storage-meter in the bottom-left corner.
Some changes did not make it across from the mobile version and probably rightly so. For example, the “Memories” carousel is not present. The stories format is probably much better suited to the mobile app so this is the correct move.
Users also can only see the Photos logo as a favicon on the web versions now. The pinwheel is also not available. This update has not been widely rolled out but should do so soon and on the whole, it makes a range of broadly sensible changes.