- Google Photos has unveiled a series of updates to its video editing software, taking inspiration from companies like CapCut.
- You can now select from a variety of video templates to create a short video without fuss, and there’s even the option to add music and text.
- Google has also announced that its revamped video editor has become the default editing software on Android.
Google Photos is undergoing another round of changes and the photo service has started rolling out big updates to its video editing tool, adopting similar features to CapCut, one of our best video editing apps.
Short-form video editing apps are more popular than ever in an era of ubiquitous TikToks and Instagram Reels, and now Google Photos has decided to tap into this market. The company announced in a blog post that “creating and editing videos is easier than ever with the new features you’ve been asking for” and says the updates are now available for some users.
With the exception of one new feature, all of the new Google Photos updates are available on Android and iOS devices. So what’s up?
Templates, a new timeline and more
For starters, Google Photos now finally has templates, making it much faster to create a video with different clips – perfect for video editing beginners. Each template comes with its own music, text and cuts that sync to the beat of the soundtrack.
All you have to do is select the footage from your Google Photos gallery that you want to use in your chosen template and a TikTok-worthy highlight reel will be created in seconds. This tool is only available on Android at the moment, but iOS users aren’t missing out on other exciting new updates.
The Google Photos video editor also gets a major overhaul, which the company says makes it easier to use for everyone, but the biggest update is the new ‘universal timeline.’ Similar to features like CapCut, this new editing view lets you see all the clips and photos you’ve added to a video in one place, where you can easily trim individual clips and drag them around to rearrange them, nice and simple.
Find the perfect soundtrack and add original text
You could create the best short video ever, but it doesn’t really come to life until you put a catchy tune on it, and this is another useful update to Google Photos. Soundtracks are now available in the redesigned video editor, and you can now search your Google Photos music library to find a song that perfectly matches the content of your highlight reel.
In addition to adding music, there’s a new custom text option you can overlay on your highlight reels. You can choose from a wide range of fonts, colors, and text backgrounds to make your final video edit stand out.
In closing, Google revealed that its redesigned video editor has now become the default editing software on Android for when you want to edit individual videos. All you have to do is open a video from your gallery and select the Edit button to get started, and you even have the option to add text and music to individual videos as if they were highlight reels.
As mentioned, all of these features are currently rolling out to Android, and most of them to iOS, and if you don’t have access yet, don’t worry: Google says new video editing tools are coming soon, so you’ll be able to put your creative skills to good use.
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