I hated Google Photos' AI search feature, but after the latest update, I love it
At Google I/O 2024, Google introduced the world to 'Ask Photos.' It was a new Gemini-powered search experience for Google Photos that would enable you to use natural language to easily find pictures in your library. The pitch sounded great and like a legitimately good use of AI.
Unfortunately, Ask Photos' implementation fell short. I've been using Ask Photos for the last several months, and in almost every scenario, it's been significantly worse than the old search experience. Between slow loading times and a really unintuitive UI, Ask Photos has made searching for things in Google Photos horribly frustrating.
Given that, you can imagine my excitement when Google started rolling out a new and improved Ask Photos this past week. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but having now used it, I think it's brilliant.
The new Ask Photos search vs. the old version
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Old Ask Photos (left) and the new Ask Photos
Previously, the Google Photos search experience was essentially split into two versions. If you used Ask Photos, you'd get a reply to your search or question with a handful of photo results in a bizarre, horizontally scrolling list. You could tap the 'View more' button below to see more results in a vertical list, or tap 'Use classic search' at the top of the page to perform the same search using Google Photos' standard search tool.
The initial results in that horizontal list were often far too limited, while the 'View more' option displayed a lengthy list of additional pictures in a seemingly random order with no organization. The classic search still worked well, but there was no way to switch it as the default option over Ask Photos, making it far more complicated to access than it should have been.
Old Ask Photos
Old Ask Photos
Old Ask Photos
With this new version of Ask Photos, Google has essentially taken the old version of the feature and combined it with the classic Google Photos search to create one, much more intuitive search experience.
In the old Ask Photos screenshots above, there's a Gemini-written reply and a horizontal list of about a dozen images below it. Tapping 'View more' displays additional pictures of my dog, but they're in a randomized order that I have no control over. If I want a structured list of results, I have to tap 'Use classic search,' which takes me to a separate page to view my photos that way.
New Ask Photos
New Ask Photos
New Ask Photos
The new Ask Photos, by comparison, highlights 'Best match' photos at the top of the screen, accompanied by the same Gemini reply below. You can tap to see more of those 'Best match' photos, or simply start scrolling to see a reverse chronological list of photos matching your search term — just like the classic search did. There's also a checkmark button to select all photos from a given date, as well as a dropdown arrow that displays other photos from that day.
Now, instead of having two distinctly separate pages of search results, the new Ask Photos displays both Gemini AI results and classic search results on the same page. It's so much cleaner and so much more convenient.
While that's the biggest and best change, there are other tweaks that I love, too.
Joe Maring / Android Authority
When you search for something in the new Ask Photos, it initially displays that reverse chronological list of pictures and then shows a 'Writing reply' loading bar before it spits out the best match results and the AI summary. If you don't care about those things, you can tap the stop button next to 'Writing reply' to keep the Gemini stuff out of your search results. Further, simple search queries (such as searching the name of a person or pet) don't come with an AI-written summary at all.
And if you want to go a step further, you can even altogether disable Gemini from ever showing up in your searches. To do so, tap your profile icon in the top-right and then Photo settings -> Preferences -> Gemini features in Photos.
Do you prefer the new or old Ask Photos?
0 votes
Old
NaN %
New
NaN %
This is what Ask Photos should have always been
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Having now spent a day with this new version of Ask Photos, I'm seriously impressed with how well it works and equally confused as to why this isn't what Google shipped in the first place.
Where the old Ask Photos felt like a bad experiment that only made searching in Google Photos worse, this improved version feels like a legitimate upgrade, not only over the old Ask Photos but over the classic search, too.
I'm seriously impressed with the new Ask Photos.
Now, is it perfect? I'm not sure if I would go that far. Loading times can sometimes be a bit slower than I'd like, and some of the suggested search queries (namely, the 'Write a poem about me' one) are just silly. But compared to what we had before, this is unquestionably better.
Google says the new Ask Photos is 'starting to roll out to more eligible users in the U.S.', so it may still be a little bit before it's live on your phone. But I hope you get it soon, because it's taken one of the worst aspects of modern Google Photos and turned it into one of the best.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nasdaq slides again as AI jitters rattle tech investors
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Tech stocks are leading declines on Wall Street, with worries about AI spurring debates about its future. The Nasdaq Composite is down around 2.4% over the last two days, the worst two-day fall since April. The semiconductor index was down 1.5%, while the information technology sector was the second biggest decliner in the S&P 500, dropping 1.1% on Wednesday. Market participants attributed the selloff to a range of factors including a technical pullback after driving much of the stock market's recovery in the weeks after April 2nd "Liberation Day." Analysts also cited deepening concerns of government interference with companies, as the Trump administration looked into taking equity stakes in chip companies such as Intel in exchange for grants under the CHIPS Act. COMMENTS: ART HOGAN, MARKET STRATEGIST, B. RILEY WEALTH MANAGEMENT, BOSTON: "Technology in general is up 40% from its April lows, and the group clearly got ahead of itself. Also, if there's anything to the market consensus that we'll see a Fed rate cut, then there will be room for other things to work as well – and there are 493 other stocks in the S&P 500 that are lagging the Mag 7 right now. So I think there's a bit of a rotation." "I don't know how long it will last, but if it does keep going, well, August and September (are) the weak period seasonally in which it could do so. Also, there are some people who are beginning to question the pace at which we need to be chasing AI capital spending. If you put all this together: when technology stocks take a breather, this is what it looks like. Nvidia and other blue chips in the group are seeing relatively steady drawdowns, but things on the speculative edge are clearly seeing more selling pressure. Palantir has gone from trading at 200 times sales to 150 times its sales, for instance." MICHAEL ASHLEY SCHULMAN, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, RUNNING POINT, EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA: "Tuesday' s U.S. technology stock swoon and its continuation today looks like multiple compression meeting a little margin math, but the timing makes it hard to ignore the new elephant in the server room. Names that had been sprinting on AI dreams pulled back hard, with Nvidia, AMD, and Palantir Technologies among the drags." "DeepSeek's update landed on Tuesday represents a serious cocktail of capability and availability and traders well remember the original harsh tech-market pullback DeepSeek caused when it was first broadly recognized in January of this year." BRIAN JACOBSEN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ANNEX WEALTH MANAGEMENT, BROOKFIELD, WISCONSIN: "When you go from rally to rout, it shows how vulnerable the names were to even a scent of bad news. It could have been (Sam)Altman's valuation warning and then Meta restructuring its AI division threw fuel on the fire." PHIL BLANCATO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LADENBURG THALMANN ASSET MANAGEMENT, NEW YORK: "It's much more about profit-taking and temporary rebalancing here. If you get a Federal Reserve cut or a mention of it on Friday, this will reverse pretty quickly, but this is a lot to do with names pushed up to really lofty levels and profit taking across the board." SETH HICKLE, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, MINDSET WEALTH MANAGEMENT, INDIANAPOLIS: "I think we are starting to see a little bit of rotation. It's always healthy to see a little bit of a pullback to that way, the markets can kind of get re-oriented." "To me, tech was overbought. Maybe it was justified, but it could have been kind of a buy on the rumor, sell it on the news type of thing where we had tech runup into earnings. We had really good earnings, and now it's kind of natural for the market just to sell some of that good news." "I wouldn't be surprised if we see a little bit of rotation into some smaller cap or into healthcare names, or consumer staples. And to me, that's kind of a healthy rotation. But honestly, I don't believe it will be a longer-term trend. It'll probably be a shorter-term trend. I think we'll see money flow back into tech in the next couple months." STEVE SOSNICK, CHIEF STRATEGIST, INTERACTIVE BROKERS, CONNECTICUT "The tech-led selloff that we saw yesterday resumed this morning. That said, dip buyers stepped in around 11am EDT and we've now recovered about half our losses. It's somewhat inevitable to expect them to arrive promptly, though it did take a bit longer than usual." "I believe that some of the early declines are related to profit-taking and risk squaring ahead of (Fed Chair Jerome)Powell's speech on Friday. That is merely rotation and relatively benign, though it gets magnified because of megacap tech stocks' heavy weighting in key indices. But some of the ferocity of the early drop was related to the President's calls for Lisa Cook's resignation." "Note that futures broke through their pre-market lows shortly after he posted on Truth Social. Markets were not perturbed that there are inquiries into the propriety of her personal mortgage applications. She gets a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, like any other person. But when the President weighed in even before the process began, then it raised the specter of politicization. That put markets on the wrong foot early, and negative momentum ruled again – at least for a couple of hours." ADAM SARHAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, 50 PARK INVESTMENTS, NEW YORK: "To see a little pullback here after a big move up is perfectly normal and healthy. If the selling gets worse then you'll see a rotation out of tech and into undervalued areas of the market like biotech stocks or healthcare stocks or small cap stocks because those areas have not participated this year." Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
TX RX Systems Launches New 'Deepwave' Antenna Line to Fill Industry Gap
TX RX Systems Deepwave Antennas BUFFALO, N.Y., Aug. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TX RX Systems, a leader in RF conditioning and communications technology for nearly five decades, has announced the launch of its new Deepwave antenna series. This is a comprehensive product line designed to serve as the next-generation solution for organizations seeking high-performance VHF and UHF omnidirectional antennas similar to those found in now-unavailable legacy lines. Engineered and manufactured on-site in the United States, Deepwave antennas deliver industry-proven performance at a significantly lower cost than comparable offerings currently available in the market. Designed for both mission-critical and commercial applications, the line is suitable for integrators, public safety agencies, utilities, transportation providers, manufacturing facilities, government entities, and any organization requiring durable, broadband RF coverage. The new Deepwave series features wideband coverage across VHF and UHF ranges, allowing flexible deployment across multiple systems and jurisdictions. Models are available with nominal gains ranging from 3 dBd to 9 dBd, providing consistent coverage and minimal distortion throughout the entire operating band. Low VSWR, typically 1.5:1 or less across the specified frequency range, ensures efficient power transfer and reduced reflected power. Each antenna is designed to handle high transmit power levels, making them ideal for both high-site and dense urban installations. Durability is a core design priority for the Deepwave line. Heavy-duty fiberglass radomes and stainless steel hardware protect against extreme weather conditions including high winds, ice loading, and salt fog exposure. All models are engineered to meet or exceed ANSI/TIA-222 standards for structural integrity, ensuring reliable operation even in the harshest environments. 'With the discontinuation of several long-standing antenna product lines in the market, organizations are actively seeking drop-in replacements that match or exceed the performance of their existing infrastructure,' said Jay Slomba, Director of Business Operations at TX RX Systems. 'Deepwave antennas are engineered to deliver uncompromising quality at a price point well below what customers are used to paying.' The Deepwave series is available now through the TX RX Systems website. Additional models will be released in the coming months to expand the range and cover even more application requirements. For more information or to request a quote, visit or contact a TX RX Systems Customer & Technical Support Specialist at sales@ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Google launches the Pixel 10 series, base model now has three-cameras
Google launched its Pixel 10 family of phones — Pixel 10, the Pixel 10 Pro, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL — on Wednesday at the company's Made by Google event. All of the phones are powered by the company's new Tensor G5 processor. The most noticeable change in hardware with this iteration is that Google has opted for a triple camera setup for the first time for the base Pixel 10 model. On the other hand, the Pro models mostly got iterative updates in terms of processor and camera sensors. The Pixel 9 had a pair of wide and ultra-wide sensors. The Pixel 10 gets a new telephoto lens, which enables 5x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom through Super Res Zoom. The base model has a 48-megapixel wide sensor, Quad phase detection per pixel — with faster and better focus in low light — and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor. The Pro phones have a new 50-megapixel wide sensor with optical stabilization and Super Res Zoom (up to 20x) for video. The pair also has a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom and increased 100x Super Res digital zoom. Screen sizes for all phones remain the same. Both the Pixel 10 and the Pixel 10 Pro have a 6.3-inch display, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL has a 6.8-inch display. Google said all devices have a new 'actua' display, which allows them to go up to 3,300 nits of brightness on the Pros and 3,000 nits on the Pixel 10. All Pixels are powered by Google's new Tensor G5 chip, coupled with the Titan M2 security chip and a new image processing unit. Google said that the new chip bumps up CPU performance by 34% and TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) by 60% over the previous gen chip, allowing for faster and new kinds of AI features. AI features Google introduced Gemini as a default assistant last year with the Pixel 9, along with features like Pixel Studio for AI-powered image generation and a new screenshot app. This year, the company has upgraded Gemini Live to allow for visual overlays while using video to ask questions. This means the assistant can guide you with direction and signs by highlighting certain parts of a screen. Google is also debuting a new feature called Magic Cue, which can surface contextual information from across the app. For instance, if you are on a call with an airline, it can surface your flight details from email or get your restaurant reservation details while chatting to a friend. The company is also adding a Gemini-powered camera coach that would guide you to take better photos from the camera interface by making suggestions about framing and composition. Additionally, Google is adding features like real-time translation for calls, transcripts for missed or declined calls through call screening, Notebook LM integration with the screenshot app, and recorder. The Pixel 10 and the Pixel 10 Pro have similar prices of $799 and $999, respectively, to the previous generation of devices. However, the Pixel 10 Pro XL now starts at $1,199 instead of $1,099, with base storage bumped up to 256GB. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
