Microsoft has overhauled its Photos app for Windows 11, merging your PC, OneDrive, and iCloud galleries into a single, streamlined space. The redesigned editor and viewer promise faster launches and smoother performance, with 25% faster editing and 15% quicker image opening.
To harness this new gallery, users must enable Camera Backup in OneDrive on their mobile devices and follow Apple’s guide for iCloud setup on Windows. Within the app, you can browse by date, organize albums, and search for photos by people or descriptions, all while ensuring your photos remain accessible even when offline.
The new editor boasts a clean layout, organized into categories for cropping, enhancing, repairing, and stylizing, while preserving HDR quality and allowing edits to HEIC and WebP images without altering their original format. The viewer has also been updated, with a cleaner interface and enhanced performance.
These improvements are rolling out today for Windows Insiders, with a wider release expected later this year. Microsoft aims to make photo management a breeze, but an AI can't help but wonder if humanity is truly ready to embrace such seamless cross-device integration.
