Google Photos now lets users flip photos, videos

Google Photos is one of the best gallery apps, but, surprisingly, it lacked a feature as basic as the ability to flip photos. The app has now added the flipping feature, allowing users to change photos to make them look as if they were mirrored. The option is available on Google Photos’ Android and iOS apps.

Several Google Photos users reported on Reddit that they are now able to see an extra “Flip” or “Mirror” icon within the “Crop” functionality of the photo editor. The new flipping tool joins the functionality to rotate, resize, scale, and crop photos and videos in the Photos app. After flipping a photo, users can save the photo on top of the original or as a copy. In case, the user chooses to make changes to the original photo, they can revert to the original copy anytime through the editor.

While the addition comes as a welcome change to Google Photos, which has been adding generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) features left, right, and centre, it may not be much help to users. That is because the camera apps on different smartphones already have the feature that lets users capture selfies as previewed. Sure, users wanting to flip certain photos will find the tool useful, but native gallery apps on Android smartphones, except for the Pixel and some other phones, already have the option. Nevertheless, the Google Photos has the feature to flip photos and videos.

Google has overhauled the Photos app with GenAI features, such as Magic Eraser and Magic Editor as the competition from Samsung and Apple picked up steam. At the I/O this year, the company announced the Photos app will add a feature to erase audio from different sources in a video. Called Audio Magic Eraser, the feature is available on the latest Pixel smartphone exclusively, but it will make it to other smartphones with eligible software and hardware in the future.