Google Photos is reportedly undergoing several developments, including a redesign of its backup settings interface, the potential introduction of a "Backup schedule" feature, and a new option to optimize backups for battery life. These changes have been identified through APK teardowns of recent application versions.
Backup Settings Interface Redesign
An analysis of Google Photos app version 7.58.0.853810532 indicates an upcoming redesign of the application's backup settings. This update incorporates the Material 3 Expressive design language. The redesign aims to enhance user control and improve the organization of backup options within the interface.
Currently, the backup page allows users to manage cloud storage preferences, toggle backup functionality, select specific content, and choose backup quality. With the anticipated changes, options such as "Backup Mode," "Backup quality," and "Back up device folder" will be presented within new containers. These elements are expected to be categorized under new headings like "How to back up," "What to back up," and "Backup tools," intending to provide a cleaner and more structured user experience.
Potential for Scheduled Backups
Within the "Backup tools" section of the new user interface, a "Backup schedule" feature has been identified. This feature is anticipated to allow users to define specific times or frequencies for photo and video uploads. Users could potentially set backups for daily, weekly, or monthly intervals. The inclusion of such a feature would address long-standing user requests for more granular control over backup timing.
Battery Optimization for Backups
Evidence from Google Photos version 7.59 indicates the development of a new feature titled "Optimize backup for battery life." This functionality is designed to adjust the application's background behavior, reducing the frequency of photo and video uploads when Google Photos is not actively in use.
Currently, Google Photos' backup controls primarily focus on data usage, with the main option for battery conservation being to disable the backup feature entirely. The new optimization is expected to cause a delay for newly captured photos and videos to appear online or sync with other devices, as backup sessions may primarily trigger when the user opens the application. This aims to allow users to conserve device battery without fully disabling backups or implementing system-level restrictions.
Development Status
All mentioned features — the UI redesign, scheduled backups, and battery optimization — have been identified through APK teardowns of Google Photos application versions. Features discovered in this manner are based on work-in-progress code and may not always be included in public releases.