GoKawiilJoe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR Google Photos appears to be testing a redesigned Collections tab with a cleaner layout.
The new UI reorganizes each collection into a scrollable section.
Those sections can also be collapsed, and the app remembers your preferred layout.
It seems like Google Photos is one of the apps that the company is never fully satisfied with — constantly tinkering to optimize the experience. For example, it was only in February that we spotted Google testing some changes related to how you move around the app. It now looks like the Collections tab could be next in line for a major revamp.
Right now, the Google Photos Collections tab is fairly busy. At the top, you’ve got shortcuts like Favorites and Trash, while the rest of the screen puts squares within squares as it orders things like Albums, Documents, and so on. It works well enough, but you don’t get much insight into what’s in each collection from the top-level view.
Current UI Current UI
After digging into the app, we managed to activate a redesigned version of that page, and it looks like Google is testing a cleaner layout that makes the contents of each collection easier to preview. The new interface puts the four quick-access buttons in a row at the top. Under that, the rest of the Collections tab is split into clearer horizontal sections for each collection.
Upcoming UI Upcoming UI
Each of those sections shows a horizontally scrollable row of previews, so you can browse a few items at a glance and then tap the arrow on the right to open the full section. Compared to the current design, it feels a bit more orderly and easier to scan.
... continue reading