Google Photos Android gets redesigned image viewer with top metadata

Google Photos is rolling out a redesigned image viewer on Android, continuing a year of interface refinements across the service. The updated viewer, arriving with version 7.42, places at the top the most essential metadata—date, time, and location—so users can access this information with a single glance. The bottom photo carousel that once guided navigation has been removed, making the viewing experience look cleaner and more focused on the image itself. A light background theme is also introduced, contributing to a more modern, less cluttered feel.

The changes are part of a broader shift toward a simpler, more intuitive user interface. In the new viewer, a star icon remains for favoriting images, while a three-dot overflow menu provides quick access to additional actions. Notably, the bottom row now replaces the former Lens shortcut with an Add to option, allowing users to move images to albums, archives, or locked folders more directly. The Edit button has been streamlined, and a new presence at the top enables quick access to features like Create Collage, Cinematic Photo, and Photo to Video, all moved from previous locations in the metadata panel to the new menu. This...