Latest news with #ApplePhotos
CNET
3 days ago
- General
- CNET
When Siri Fails, Here's How I Find My Images in Apple Photos
When Apple demos Siri, it often highlights finding images in the Photos library -- a great example, since we all have tons of pictures and asking for what we want feels like the simplest approach. The problem? It just doesn't work reliably. For example, "Siri, show me pictures of Jeff Carlson" is a phrase that should work on my iPhone when I'm looking for a new profile picture or to see if I wore the same shirt at last year's family gathering. Instead, the Apple Intelligence assistant brings up a web search of other Jeff Carlsons, such as a star of the movie Slap Shot, the leader of a rock band and the late science fiction author. So much for smart AI photo management. The conundrum is that the Apple Photos app already knows who I am -- I've tagged photos of myself, and a text search for my name brings up exactly what I'm looking for. In fact, Apple Photos already uses AI extensively to find images and surface memories -- it's just not yet integrated into the broader Apple Intelligence framework. When you do want to locate photos that you know must be in your library somewhere, you don't need to haphazardly scroll through the thumbnails to find them. Here are some strategies for making smarter searches that'll save you time and trouble. It's all about the photo metadata When you search for a document on your computer, you typically type a word or phrase that you know appears in it; for example, I can quickly locate my tax information by searching for "2024 taxes" or "1099" in the MacOS Finder or Windows Explorer. However, an image is composed of colored pixels. The key to effective photo searches is having metadata -- information that lives inside the image file and describes what the image depicts. It used to be your job to tag each photo with keywords and descriptions to make it easier to find. In reality, few people actually go to the trouble of adding this information. Plus, in this mobile age, it's difficult to actually add it; the Photos app on the iPhone and iPad only includes a Caption field for writing descriptive text. But in this case, Photos is actually on your side, because it's doing a lot of that descriptive work for you in the background. The app uses machine learning to analyze each image and build its own internal database of what it discovers. So even if you've never thought about tagging your images, Photos is building metadata for you. This photo could include metadata such as harbor, bridge, ferry, skyline, water and city to describe its contents. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET Strategy 1: Search for items, scenes or places in the photos There's no way to tell what information Photos comes up with for any given image, so the rule of thumb is to assume it's there -- or is at least close enough to narrow your search. For example, tap the Search button and type "flowers" in the Search field. As you type, the app displays an assortment of results: Photos you've favorited that contain flowers, images with any type of flower, images with the word "flowers" in it and so on. Tap one of the items in the pop-up menu that appears or tap the Search button to reveal everything it found. Searching for "flowers" (left) brings up all images that Photos thinks include flowers. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET Similarly, the Photos app can make guesses about scenes and concepts, such as "spring" or "skiing" and serve up images that match those ideas. And if your images were captured by an iPhone or tagged with location data, the search will pick up names of cities, neighborhoods or some landmarks. Apple says the following metadata are detected when scanned: Date (month or year) Place (city or state) Business names (museums, for example) Category (beach or sunset, for example) Events (sports games or concerts, for example) A person identified in People & Pets Text (an email address or phone number, for example) Caption Strategy 2: Search for identified people The Photos app also uses machine learning to identify when people are in a photo. If you've identified them in the People & Pets category, you can type someone's name into the Search field to find all the photos in which they appear. Individuals you've identified in the People & Pets category (left) can be found by name using the Search field (right). Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET In fact, when you add multiple people to the search query, Photos narrows the results to photos in which all of the people are present. When you specify multiple names of people in the Search field, the results show only photos in which all of them appear. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET Strategy 3: Search for text that appears in photos At one time, you'd pay a lot of money for software that could recognize text in a document and turn it into editable text. Now, the Photos app automatically scans all your photos looking for text that appears on signs, menus and other real-world sources. Any text you type in the Search field that matches what appears in photos will come up in the search. A search for "coffee" includes results in which that word appears in photos. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET Strategy 4: Combine elements for more targeted searches You can see where this is all going. When you type multiple criteria into the Search field, you can narrow the number of results that appear and find your photos quicker. For example, searching for "Jeff L. Carlson in Italy in 2022" -- tapping each of those items in the pop-up menu that appears to denote that you're using the results it knows, highlighted in blue -- brings up images of me during a vacation that year. Combining search terms narrows the number of results. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET Strategy 5: Add keywords in Photos for Mac for more specificity I know I said people don't tag their photos with keywords, but that doesn't mean it's not an effective method of organization. The Photos app on MacOS does include a Keywords field, though it's not obvious: Select a photo and choose Window > Info to view the floating Info panel, then type in the Keywords field. Separate terms with commas. Keywords transfer, but it can take some time due to the Photos sync process. In one example, an edit where I converted a photo to black and white synced, but it took many minutes before the keyword I added ("Grabthar") came up in a search. You can add keywords in the MacOS version of Photos and they will be recognized when searching in the iOS and iPadOS versions. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET What does "Some Results May Not Appear" mean? At the bottom of the search screen you may see an unobtrusive message: "Some Results May Not Appear." This is Apple's way of tamping expectations in case the photo you're looking for doesn't come up in a search. More specifically, it's there because of how Photos indexes your library. I mentioned earlier that Photos scans your images to find recognizable elements, perform people recognition and collect other metadata. According to Apple, that scanning only happens when your device is locked, charging and connected to Wi-Fi. There's no way to force it to update its database, which can be frustrating when you've recently imported a bunch of new photos but the people in them aren't yet recognized. With AI, there's always something to look forward to, I guess. For more on working with Apple Photos in iOS 18, don't miss how to use the new Clean Up tool to remove unwanted elements from your pictures. And if you're flummoxed by the new interface, learn how to pare the app down by hiding many of the collections and categories fighting for space.
Tom's Guide
3 days ago
- Tom's Guide
Google Photos vs. iCloud: Which should you use for your photos?
Google Photos and iCloud are among the best cloud storage services that make it easy to sync your photos across devices and share them with friends and family. However, they differ in several key ways, and choosing the wrong platform for your needs could result in a headache. In this guide, we compare Google Photos vs. iCloud so you can decide which photo cloud storage app is right for you. While iCloud can be used for more than just photo storage, for the purposes of this comparison, we're going to highlight what you can do in the Apple Photos app vs. Google Photos. Let's dive into some key differences between Google Photos and iCloud, specifically Apple Photos. Everyone with a Google account receives 15GB of free storage space to use across Google Photos, Gmail, and Google Drive. You can buy additional data through Google One if you need to store more content. Paid plans offer 100GB for $1.99 per month, 1TB for $9.99 per month, and 2TB for $19.99 per month. iCloud offers only 5GB of free storage. iCloud+ plans provide an additional 50GB for $0.99 per month, 200GB for $2.99 per month, or 2TB for $9.99 per month. Plans for 6TB and 12TB of storage are also available. Importantly, Google Photos can store photos and videos only. You can store other types of content, such as documents and audio files, with Google Drive, but you have to switch between apps to access this content. Meanwhile, iCloud supports all types of files in a single location, making it an all-in-one cloud hub for your content. Another notable distinction is that Google Photos enables you to choose the resolution to upload when backing up photos and videos. On the other hand, iCloud automatically backs up original photos at full resolution and replaces the copies on your device with lower-resolution versions. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Google Photos offers apps for all devices, while iCloud provides apps for Apple devices only. You can install Google Photos on a Mac computer or iPhone, but you can't install iCloud on a Windows computer or Android phone. You can still use iCloud on Windows and Android devices, but you must go through your browser to access the iCloud web app. This significantly detracts from the point of using a cloud storage app. Your photos won't automatically upload to the cloud or sync across devices, and you'll need to visit the iCloud website to view them. Effectively, iCloud is only a good option if you have a Mac computer and an iPhone. If you use any non-Apple devices, you'll have a much better experience with Google Photos. Both Google Photos and Apple Photos enable you to organize images into albums. Likewise, both automatically curate albums based on photo data like location, date, and people. They use AI to tag elements of your photos, including people, objects, and landscapes (such as mountains or sunsets). This makes it easy to search your photos later using terms like 'family photos' or 'beach.' That said, Apple Photos has a slight edge over Google Photos in terms of image editing. You can easily open any photo in Apple's Photos app, which has relatively advanced touch-up options. Google Photos offers auto-correction and some basic color and light adjustments, but that's it. With Google Photos, you can invite anyone with a Google account to join a shared album. The album owner can customize permissions for others to control whether they can add photos to the album or comment. It's also easy to share photos to third-party apps like Facebook and X. iCloud enables you to create shared Apple Photos albums, but users must have an Apple ID to access them. This can be a barrier for people without an Apple device. In addition, you can't customize permissions in an iCloud album. Anyone invited can add or delete photos, and all content stored in the album counts against the album owner's storage limit. Both apps also enable you to share photos and albums with a link. The recipient doesn't need a Google or Apple account. Overall, Google Photos is a better choice than iCloud for anyone who isn't fully locked into the Apple ecosystem. It's also better if you have friends or family who aren't Apple users since iCloud makes it challenging to share photos with them. Interested in more photo storage options? Check out our guide to the best cloud storage solutions. Yes, Google Photos has an iOS app that enables iPhone users to easily back up and sync their photos. iCloud offers 5GB of free storage, but users can upgrade to a paid plan for additional space. Yes, you can manually download photos from iCloud and upload them to Google Photos. Apple also offers a tool to transfer images directly to Google Photos. iCloud is primarily designed for Apple devices, but you can access it via a web browser on Windows or Android (with limited functionality).
Hans India
21-04-2025
- Hans India
What Are QR Codes and How Do They Work on Your Smartphone—No App Needed
QR codes are now a part of everyday life—from scanning menusat restaurants to connecting to public Wi-Fi or even accessing digital once started as a method to track car parts in the 1990s has now become astaple in how we interact with the digital world, especially since the pandemicaccelerated the need for touch-free technology. These Quick Response (QR) codes are you're shopping, signing into a venue, or just checking productinformation, you've likely come across one recently. The good news is: youdon't need to download a special app to scan them. Your smartphone already haseverything you need. What Are QR Codes and How Do They Work? A QR code is essentially a smart barcode. While it mightlook like a simple black-and-white square, it can actually store small amountsof data—typically under 100 characters for common uses, though they can storeup to around 3KB depending on complexity. These codes are designed to be easily scanned. The uniquesquare patterns you see at three of the corners are called finder help your phone's camera recognise the code's position, size, andorientation. Interestingly, their pattern (1-1-3-1-1) was deliberately chosenbecause it's not likely to occur in normal printed materials, reducingaccidental scans. While QR codes can't hold huge amounts of information, theycan store just enough to be useful: links to websites or apps, contactinformation, Wi-Fi credentials, or even authentication tokens. For example,that square on your event ticket doesn't just contain a link—it might include aunique code that validates your identity when scanned at the gate. How to Scan a QR Code on Your Smartphone If your phone is reasonably up to date—specifically, runningAndroid 8 or iOS 11 or newer—it can scan QR codes directlythrough the built-in camera app. No need to mess your phone with additionalapps. Here's how to do it: Open the camera app on your phone. Point the camera at the QR code—make sure the entire code is visible and well-lit. Tap the screen if needed to focus the lens on the code. You should see a notification or link pop up on the screen. Tap the link to visit the website, app page, or location the code is linked to. It's really that simple. Want to Save a QR Code for Later? If you see a QR code you might want to use again, just takea photo of it. On Android, open the photo in Google Photos, then tap the Google Lens icon (it looks like a small camera) to scan the QR code from the image. On iPhone, open the image in Apple Photos, tap the Live Text icon (lines within a frame), and then tap the QR code to follow the link. This way, you can scan it later without needing the physicalcopy in front of you. Should You Use a QR Code Scanner App? Third-party QR code scanner apps are available, but for mostusers, they're unnecessary. Unless you need features like scanning differenttypes of barcodes, saving a history of scans, or generating custom QR codes,your default camera app will do just fine. Most of these apps come with intrusive ads or pushysubscription models, so if you're just doing a quick scan, it's better to avoidthem. If you do need to create a QR code yourself, a safe and easyoption is Adobe's free online QR code generator, which lets you makebasic codes for URLs, text, and contact info. A Word of Caution While QR codes are convenient, they're not risk-free. Scammers have started using QR codes to trick users into visiting fake websites designed to steal personal information or payment details. Be cautious if a code is pasted over another, posted in a random public space, or linked to an unfamiliar site. Modern smartphones and browsers can often catch these phishing attempts, but staying alert and avoiding suspicious links or codes is still smart.
