Google is rolling out a major upgrade for its flagship gallery app that will enhance how users turn their photos into short video clips. Google Photos, for reference, gained photo-to-video generation capabilities back in July. At the time, the functionality was powered by the tech giant’s proven Veo 2 video generation model.
Although reliable, the model is clearly not as advanced as Veo 3, which took the world by storm when it became available in May.
The tech giant has a habit of trickling down features, and when image-to-video functionality was initially added to Google Photos, we knew that the app would eventually be upgraded with Veo 3’s advanced functionality. That’s exactly what’s happening now.
However, before you get too excited, you should note that the integration doesn’t bring Veo 3’s full capabilities to Google Photos. You’re still limited to preset prompts — “Subtle movement” or “I’m feeling lucky.” So no, while you won’t be able to take a photo of your friend and convert it into a video of them doing a cringeworthy TikTok dance, you should see more reliable and higher-quality results.
Veo 3 within Google Photos is free for all
For what it’s worth, regular Veo 3 access via Gemini is still locked behind Google’s AI Pro/Ultra subscriptions. Google Photos’ integration has no such paywalls, and essentially all US-based users can utilize the top-of-the-line model, albeit with limited generations per day.
As expected, AI Pro and Ultra subscribers will get a higher number of generations per day, though Google did not specify a concrete amount.
Users will find the new tool in the Google Photos app’s Create tab, alongside other tools like Remix, which lets you transform images in your gallery into different art styles, like anime, comics, sketches, and even 3D animations, and other existing tools like Collage, Highlight video, Cinematic photo, and Animation.
