Google backtracks on Photos Library tab redesign, changes planned

A month ago, Google announced a ton of new – and useful – features coming to Google Photos “over the coming weeks.” These features were the same ones that were spotted back in February, which consisted of a new layout for better organization, discovery, sharing, and importing of photos.

However, none of these features saw the light of day on Android – though they made a brief appearance on iOS and iPad and then swiftly rolled back. Now, we have confirmation from Google, via 9to5Google, that the aforementioned redesign is delayed and will undergo additional changes, specifically the one pertaining to the Library tab.

The redesigned library tab was to include smart chips at the top for filtering and sorting photos, immediately followed by your albums, including those of photos locally saved on your device. At the bottom, it was to include options for viewing your trash, photo archive, utilities, locked folder, and a brand new option for importing photos.

Google assured 9to5Google that the redesign planned for the Sharing tab was still a go and will still roll out gradually for Android over the “next couple weeks,” followed by iOS. It is unclear why the originally announced redesign of the Library tab was suddenly paused, but it could be due to customer feedback on the changes since the announcement. It is also unclear what “additional changes” are planned for the future. We will be keeping an eye on any updates from Google on this and report back.