According to The Verge, Google is rolling out several AI updates to Google Photos including iOS support for conversational edits where iPhone users can describe changes they want using voice or text. The “Help me edit” feature that previously launched on Pixel and Android devices is now coming to iPhones in the US, along with a redesigned editor UI that uses simple gestures and one-tap suggestions. Google’s Nano Banana AI model integration provides more options for transforming images into styles like paintings and illustrations, while personalized editing capabilities make facial changes like removing glasses or opening blinked eyes more accurate by referencing private face groups. The update also includes a new “Ask” button for both Android and iOS users that launches a chatbot-style interface, plus ready-made AI templates for Android users and expanded “Ask Photos” tool availability to over 100 new regions and 17 new languages.
Finally, iPhone users get the good stuff
Here’s the thing – Google Photos has been playing catch-up with its own ecosystem. The fact that conversational editing was available on Android first, especially Pixels, wasn’t exactly surprising. But making iPhone users wait? That felt like leaving money on the table. Now Apple loyalists can finally experience what Android users have had for months – just describe what you want changed and let Google’s AI do the heavy lifting.
And honestly, this is smart positioning from Google. They’re essentially saying “Hey, you might be locked into Apple’s hardware, but you don’t have to use their photo editing tools.” It’s a classic Google move – dominate through software regardless of the platform. The redesigned editor UI coming to iPhones too? That’s just icing on the cake.
The face editing gets creepily good
Now the personalized facial editing is where things get both impressive and slightly unsettling. Google says it can reference images from your “private face groups” to make edits like removing glasses or fixing blinked eyes more accurate. Basically, Google’s AI knows what you and your friends normally look like across different photos.
Is that incredibly useful? Absolutely. Does it also feel a bit like Google’s building detailed facial models of everyone in your photos? Well, yeah. But they’re quick to emphasize these are “private” face groups, which presumably means they’re not using this data for broader AI training. Still, it raises interesting questions about how much we’re comfortable with our photos being analyzed, even for our own benefit.
Google’s going all-in on AI photos
The Nano Banana model integration and expanded “Ask Photos” availability show Google’s doubling down on AI across their photo ecosystem. Transforming images into paintings or mosaics isn’t exactly new – we’ve seen similar features from other apps. But making it seamless within Google Photos, combined with the conversational editing? That’s where the magic happens.
And the regional expansion to over 100 new areas and 17 languages tells you everything about Google’s ambitions here. They’re not just testing waters – they’re going global with this AI photo vision. The new “Ask” button that works like a chatbot for your photos? That’s basically turning Google Photos into your personal photo editor that you can just… talk to.
It’s worth checking out Google’s official announcement for the technical details behind these updates. The pace of improvement in AI photo editing is honestly staggering – we’ve gone from basic filters to “describe what you want” in what feels like no time at all.
