This Key Google Photos Feature Is Coming To An Android Photo Picker Near You
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Finding the right photo to share on Android could soon get a lot easier
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Summary
- Android’s Photo Picker currently lacks the powerful search capabilities found in the Google Photos app, making it difficult to find specific pictures when sharing.
- Google announced the addition of search functionality to the Photo Picker at I/O 2024, initially aiming for a 2024 release, but it did not materialize last year.
- Recent reports suggest the search feature is now starting to appear for some users, indicating a potential wider rollout may be imminent, although its availability seems controlled by the Google Photos app itself.
Finding the exact photo you’re looking for is a seamless process when you’re browsing through your Google Photos gallery. Thanks to the app’s built-in search functionality, you can directly type in the desired photo’s name (if you know it) to pull it up, or describe its contents to find relevant photos.
The same experience, however, does not translate into the Android photo picker experience, though that is poised to soon change.
As shared by the tech giant back at I/O 2024, it intended to bring search functionality to the Android photo picker some time in 2024, though the feature didn’t really materialize. The photo picker, for reference, is the image gallery you see when you try to attach and send photos via apps like WhatsApp, Slack, Gemini, and more.
Now, we’re almost five months into 2025, and it looks like the feature could actually begin rolling out sooner rather than later.
In a report shared by Android Authority, the publication’s contributor and reputable leaker Kamila Wojciechowska (via Mishaal Rahman) shared that the feature is now enabled on their device.
Here’s what the photo picker’s search bar will look like
Source: Android Authority
The search bar, as seen in the screenshots above, will appear right above the Photos and Collections chips, and typing in it will slowly populate relevant photos, likely not just from your gallery, but also from your cloud media app.
According to the report, the underlying functionality already seems to have gone live with a recent Google Play System Update, so widespread availability might just be a question of when, not if. The limiting factor here appears to be Google Photos, which hasn’t begun rolling out the functionality widely.
The feature doesn’t appear to be tied to Android 16, but that doesn’t mean the upcoming major OS update isn’t bringing any photo picker-related upgrades.
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