At their Brazilian event where they announced new features for Allo and Duo, Google has also announced another feature update for Photos, which is also aimed at reducing data usage, or at least give you options for photo backups in areas of low-connectivity.
In the latest update, Photos will now upload a ‘lightweight preview quality’ copy of your image that will transfer fast on a 2G connection, but Google says will also look good on your smartphone. The backup is a temporary solution with a higher quality version uploaded when your phone connects to a faster connection like Wi-Fi, which will then permanently replace the image in your backup library.
Sharing is as easy as it has ever been, you can share a link to the low-res image to friends and family, and it will the low-res image will automatically be replaced with the higher resolution image when it finishes uploading, once you reach the haven of a faster connection.
The update to photos is definitely a win for any user on a slower connection. While 2G is disappearing here in Australia it’s still the status quo in a number of countries, so this update will be a welcome one. This update to Google Photos is now rolling out to Android and iOS users, so check Google Play for the update notification.
