Google Photos: Android users get one of their "top wishes"

Google Photos users on Android are now getting a frequently requested new feature: videos can now be played directly in the app at different playback speeds. Google has officially confirmed the rollout in a community announcement and describes the feature itself as one of the community’s “top wishes.”

There are five playback speeds to choose from: 0.25x, 0.5x, 1x, 1.5x and 2x. The option can be found in the three-dot menu of an open video under “Playback speed.” According to Google, the rollout is starting now. If the new feature is not yet available, updating the Google Photos app via the Play Store may help.

In everyday use, the feature should offer two main advantages: users who want to review clips more quickly can switch to 1.5x or 2x, while details in videos can be examined more closely at 0.5x or even 0.25x. Previously, this usually required switching to other apps or editing the video first. For the time being, it remains unclear whether and when the feature will also appear on iOS or in the web version of Google Photos. In its official announcement, Google only mentions Android.

Google is therefore giving users a genuinely useful convenience feature. However, judging by community feedback, Google Photos could still benefit from a few other changes. On Reddit, users generally say they want fewer AI features and a clearer overall presentation of the media library. A shuffle function for albums is also mentioned several times so that memories do not always appear in the same order.