Google Photos Now Lets You Upgrade Your Pics To ‘Ultra HDR’ After The Fact

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Google Photos has been working on an “Ultra HDR” editing feature for a while now. We first spotted signs of the feature in the app last September, but at the time, the option wasn’t functional, and it wasn’t clear what it was supposed to do. Still, we had a hunch it was tied to the Ultra HDR file format Google introduced with Android 14.

Ultra HDR allows for capturing and displaying photos with a wider range of light and color. The result is more vibrant, lifelike images, especially noticeable on devices with high dynamic range (HDR) displays. But Ultra HDR is also backward-compatible, meaning it can still display normally on older, non-HDR devices. It does this by packing both SDR and HDR versions of the image into a single file.

Now it looks like Google Photos is rolling out the ability to convert standard photos into Ultra HDR after they’ve been taken. The feature seems to have started appearing for some users.

Telegram user @greyishere tipped off Android Authority contributor Assemble Debug, confirming that the Ultra HDR option is now available in the Google Photos app, version 7.24.0.747539053. Like us, many of you might already have this version installed on your Android devices, but don’t be surprised if you can’t spot the new option just yet. This appears to be a server-side rollout, so Google has to enable the feature on their end before it appears on your phone.

When the feature becomes available, the Ultra HDR option will be in the “Adjust” section of the photo editor. Once it goes live, it will replace the current “HDR Effect” option. You will also be able to tweak the Ultra HDR strength using a slider.

In the screenshots above, you can clearly see the difference between a standard image and one enhanced with the new Ultra HDR effect in Google Photos. The converted image is labeled “Ultra HDR” in its details, and its file size is noticeably smaller. That’s because Ultra HDR images use a gain map that’s smaller than the main image. This gain map stores luminosity information, allowing devices to render brighter, more colorful images without the need for storing as much data as a full-resolution image.

This GitHub page contains images that show the difference between a converted Ultra HDR image and a standard image. The difference should be clearly noticeable if you’re using a device with an HDR display and an operating system or browser that supports the Ultra HDR format.

Having Ultra HDR as an editing option in Google Photos is a big deal for photo sharing. It means that photos you take every day can now be upgraded to Ultra HDR and look their best on supported displays without needing special hardware or settings.