Microsoft Announces New Features For Photos App in Windows 11

Work on the Windows 11 Photos app continues. Microsoft is bringing back the much-requested slideshow feature and galleries with timelines. At the same time, image processing should be simplified. Windows Insiders can download the new update now.

After the integration of Apple iCloud, the photos app for Windows 11, which was redesigned in autumn 2022, will receive another makeover, which is available as a preview in the Dev and Canary channels. Among other things, Microsoft is focusing on the new slide show, which, according to its own statements, is one of the most important feature requests from the community.

The slide show format is intended to play back images with transitions and animations and also to accompany them with background music. Microsoft provides 25 original soundtrack ex works. The slide show can be started either with a complete gallery or with previously selected images.

In addition, Microsoft introduces new gallery views with integrated timelines. Users of the Photos app can group their photos by year and month in the “All Photos”, “OneDrive” and “iCloud Photos” areas and use the scroll bar to jump to any point in time.

Last but not least, the Redmond company is working on the “Spot Fix” function, which can be used to remove impurities or unwanted areas from photos – similar to the Photoshop repair brush. This can also be tried out within the new preview version.

Interested Insiders in the Dev or Canary channel must update the Photos app to version 2023.11050.2013.0 or later through the Microsoft Store to take advantage of the new features and additional changes (see below). It is still unclear when the update will also be available for the average consumer.

Windows 11 Photos app: more changes and improvements

• Auto Enhance can now be used without installing the 93MB add-on.
• When importing photos from external devices, you can now drag and drop the photos you want and confirm the selected files with the shortcut button.
• Hidden iCloud photos no longer appear in Gallery.
• Fixed an issue where video files had audio muted by default. The app now plays the audio by default and keeps the user preferences for all videos.
• Copying and pasting a photo from the Photos app in Outlook and Teams now defaults to inline the image instead of adding an attachment.
• Multiple photo selection: holding SHIFT while selecting photos in gallery now selects multiple consecutive photos in a row; holding down the CTRL key will select multiple non-consecutive photos.