| Photos | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Photos app running inmacOS Tahoe | |
| Developer | Apple Inc. |
| Operating system | |
| Type | Photo gallery and editing software |
| Website | www |
Photos is aphoto management andediting application developed byApple. It was released as a bundled app iniPhone OS 1, and released as a bundled app toOS X Yosemite users in the 10.10.3 update on April 8, 2015, replacingiPhoto andAperture. It was released fortvOS 10 on September 13, 2016. With the introduction of theApple Vision Pro atWWDC 2023 on June 5, 2023, the Photos app came tovisionOS.
In June 2014, Apple announced its plan to discontinue the applicationsiPhoto andAperture, to be replaced by a new application, Photos, in 2015.[1][2] The app was included withOS X Yosemite 10.10.3, released as a free update to users on April 8, 2015.[3][4][5]
On September 13, 2016, the app was later included intvOS 10.[6]
With the introduction of theApple Vision Pro on theWWDC 2023 on June 5, 2023, the Photos app came tovisionOS.[7]
WithiOS 18 andiPadOS 18, the Photos app received a comprehensive redesign at WWDC 2024, marking its biggest feature update since its introduction. The goal of the redesign was to improve usability, simplify library organization, and provide newAI-powered features. The previous structure with separate tabs such as “Library,” “Albums,” and “For You” was replaced by a unified, scrollable view. When users open the app, they first see their entire library in a compact grid. As they scroll further, automatically generated collections appear, organized thematically by people, pets, locations, or events. These collections can be individually customized, sorted, or pinned. The search function has been significantly improved and now supports natural language input, such as “Me with ice cream” or “Cat in a box.” Both photos and videos are searched, with specific scenes within videos being identifiable. Because of the integration withApple Intelligence, enhanced editing tools are available. These include a new “Clean Up” tool that removes distracting objects from images, as well as a feature that automatically creates memories from photos and videos based on simple descriptive text.[8]
Photos is intended to be less complex than its professional predecessor, Aperture.[3] Through version 4.0 (released withmacOS 10.14 Mojave) the Photos app organized photos by "moment", as determined using combination of the time and locationmetadata attached to the photo.[5] Starting in version 5.0 (released in 2019 withmacOS 10.15 Catalina), photos can instead be browsed by year, month, or day.
By default, iPhones save photos in theHEIF (High Efficiency Image File) format, which is a space-saving format with a .heic file extension. HEIF offers smaller file sizes and high quality, whereasJPEG provides wider compatibility with older devices and software. HEIF photos can be exported as JPEG files.
Photos includes robust editing functions that are utilized with simple controls, such as a one-click auto-enhance button.[9]
iCloud Photo Library is heavily integrated into the app, keeping photos and videos in sync with various Apple devices designated by the user (such asMacs,iPhones, andiPads), including edits and album structures.[10] iCloud integration is still optional, but it is much more central to Photos as compared to iPhoto.[9]
Like its predecessors, Photos initially included a number of options for professional printing of photos, which could then optionally be turned into books or calendars and mailed to an address. With Photos, Apple added new types of prints, including square sizes and the ability to print panoramas.[5] In July 2018, Apple announced, via a pop-up message in Photos, that they would be discontinuing these services, adding that users should submit any final orders by September 30, 2018.[11]
iCloud Photo Sharing allows sharing photos with others. Others can view, like or comment existing shared photos or contribute new photos to the shared album.[12] Other ways of sharing includes e-mail, social platform that integrates through iOS Extensions, or Apple's peer-to-peer AirDrop technology.[13]
Critics noted the loss of functionality in Photos as compared to its predecessors. For example, images could no longer be ordered as Events but were either automatically ordered chronologically into Moments or had to be put into albums. The latter did not allow for automatic sorting[14] and it was necessary to configure Smart Albums with customized user-defined rules to do so.[15] Customers who had been using the Aperture application, abandoned by Apple on the release of Photos, were particularly angry about loss of professional-standard functionality. Apple customers who upgraded to OS X 10.11 El Capitan, which was launched in 2015, found that if they had not first obtained the most recent version of iPhoto before upgrading, they were locked out of the application without warning. Since iPhoto had been removed from the Mac App Store, they had no alternative but to use Photos.[16]
iOS and iOS-based products | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware |
| .svg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Software |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
