Google Photos could be getting Instagram-style text editing for video, but it’s missing one crucial thing

Google Photos app on a smartphone screen — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Google Photos has been getting its share of big updates of late, with Ask Photos joining its ever-growing arsenal of features just last month. A recent APK teardown by Android Authority of Google Photos for Android version 7.49 reveals that it could be adding Instagram-style text editing to videos soon.

Anyone who uses Instagram and TikTok already has access to text-editing tools that let them change the font, colors, and styles of the text they add to videos. This exact feature could be coming to Google Photos. The app teardown shows how users will be able to spruce their videos through different text options — such as selecting the color, styles, and even adding a background color to the text block.

Google Photos - Improved 'Add text' menu options for videos - YouTube

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Compared to the current text editing features of Google Photos, which are as basic as they come, these new tools certainly can give your videos that added aesthetic look to make them pop out. Based on the video shared by Android Authority above, it appears to be directly lifted from Instagram. However, it’s unclear if you’ll be able to perform other edits to these text blocks — like being able to choose how long they appear.

While these video editing tools are nice, I’m really waiting for Google to work on something more comprehensive that could really make Google Photos even better for video editing. When it comes to text-editing tools, I’d really like to see AI help with making text on video look way cooler. For example, I’d love to see the option for dynamic text that could resize or animate along with the video.

Another really cool text editing feature for video would be the ability to add text behind objects/subjects in video. You could achieve this kind of text-editing effect through professional-grade video editors, like Adobe Premiere Pro, which requires masking and layering tools in order to achieve.

But given how Google is transforming complex edits and making them easy with help from AI, I would love to see a feature like this make its way to Google Photos. It’s one way it could easily set itself apart from other video editors.

It’s unknown if these new Instagram-style text editing effects will actually come with the next update for Google Photos, but I suspect it will, considering how past feature leaks, like Ask Photos, ended up coming out soon afterward.

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John’s a senior editor covering phones for Tom’s Guide. He’s no stranger in this area having covered mobile phones and gadgets since 2008 when he started his career. On top of his editor duties, he’s a seasoned videographer being in front and behind the camera producing YouTube videos. Previously, he held editor roles with PhoneArena, Android Authority, Digital Trends, and SPY. Outside of tech, he enjoys producing mini documentaries and fun social clips for small businesses, enjoying the beach life at the Jersey Shore, and recently becoming a first time homeowner.

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