Google is moving from a mobile-first to an AI-first mentality, CEO Sundar Pichai explained at Google I/O today, and you can see that in action via Google Photos, which is getting an upgrade to help you more easily share your photos.
With Suggested Sharing, Google Photos will tell you which photos it thinks you should share and who might want to see them. Did you snap a bunch of shots at your sister's graduation? Google Photos can automatically pick the best shots and ask if you want to send them to your sister, mom, dad, or anyone else featured in the photos. When your friends receive them, Google Photos will also remind them to add their pics, too.
The idea is that Google will bug your friends to share photos so you don't have to. "You can finally share and receive all the photos that really matter to you, without the work," Google says.
If you still don't trust that you'll get the shots that you want, Google Photos is also adding Shared Libraries. This is probably more for someone you really trust, like your partner, because you can opt to have all the photos that you snap and upload to Google Photos automatically show up in their account.
If you don't want to share everything, you can only share photos of specific people, like your kids. Or, if you don't want them poking around your pics from the last decade, only share snaps from a specific date and later.
"Gone are the days of begging your partner for those special pictures only stored on their phone," according to Google.
Look for a Sharing tab on Android, iOS, and web in the coming weeks.
For an old-school throwback, meanwhile, Google also announced Photo Books, which are exactly what they sound like. Peruse Google Photos and create physical books of your shots, starting at $9.99. The modern part of this equation is that Google Photos can create these books on its own, gathering your best shots and suggesting that perhaps you'd like a nice keepsake of that Halloween or housewarming party you had? You can go with a Googlebot-created book or make tweaks of your own and purchase.
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Photo Books are on sale now in the US via the web and will be available on the Android and iOS apps next week; get a 20-page softcover book for $9.99 or a hardcover for $19.99.
The upgrades come as Google Photos, now two years old, tops 500 million monthly users.
Also at I/O today, Google announced upgrades for Google Home and launched the Google Assistant on iOS. It also teased standalone, Daydream-enabled VR headsets from HTC and Lenovo and provided more Android O details.