GoKawiilMishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR Google is working on a built-in camera shortcut for the Android Photo picker, as spotted in the latest Android 17 QPR1 Beta 2.
The addition could reduce UI fragmentation by eliminating the need for app developers to build separate camera entry points if they are already using the Photo picker.
The Photo picker now allows users to delete their search history, and this feature is already live in the beta.
Android’s Photo picker was designed to make sharing media more secure and streamlined, but it has long suffered from a glaring omission: you couldn’t actually take a photo from within the interface. This limitation has led to a fragmented user experience across the ecosystem, as app developers had to implement their own camera entry points. However, evidence found in the latest Android 17 QPR1 Beta 2 suggests Google is finally ready to bridge this gap with a built-in camera shortcut.
The Photo picker is an Android system component that provides a browsable interface for accessing media library content in third-party apps. Apps can use a library to invoke the Photo picker, saving them the effort of building this interface themselves. For users, the Photo picker provides a safe, built-in way to grant apps access to only selected images and videos, instead of sharing access to their entire media library. The Photo picker shows media sorted by date from newest to oldest, and recent versions can also display media from certain cloud media providers.
Photo picker could soon get a dedicated, in-built camera shortcut Currently, the Photo picker lacks a direct shortcut to launch the device’s camera. You can only choose from the media already stored locally or in the cloud, but not click a new photo. Because of this limitation, apps that need this functionality end up baking in a separate mechanism (usually a button or similar entry point outside the Photo picker) to click a new photo.
For example, check out the options in Gmail’s and Keep’s “Insert” menu. Both apps had to add a dedicated entry point for the camera, even though both also incorporate the Photo picker.
Because apps make this decision independently, the resulting UX is fragmented. Notice how the button order is different across the two apps — it’s a small decision, but one that affects the UX experience across the Android platform, given that this fragmented UX exists across apps from Google and third-party developers.
Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority? Set us as a favorite source in Google Discover to never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more.
... continue reading