What’s New with the Bottom Bar?
The older bottom tab in Google Photos was quite heavy, housing shortcuts for Photos, Collections, Create, and the Gemini‑powered Ask Photos feature. The new floating toolbar is sleeker, visually lighter, and groups the same shortcuts in a floating container. The Ask Photos shortcut appears as a separate floating pill.
Design and Usability
Unlike the previous tab, the floating bar does not auto‑hide while scrolling, but its higher placement and translucent design let users see content behind it. The design mirrors the floating bottom bar first seen in Google Chat (Dec 2023) and resembles Apple’s Liquid Glass floating bar, though Google’s version uses a subtler transparency.
- Photos shortcut
- Collections shortcut
- Create shortcut
- Ask Photos (Gemini) shortcut
Availability and Future Plans
For now, the floating bottom bar is rolling out only on iOS. An Android version is expected in the coming weeks.
Other Upcoming Visual Improvements
Google is also working on:
- Adding a “Copy” option to the share menu for quick clipboard copying.
- Integrating more Material 3 Expressive elements, such as a refreshed Backup page in Settings.
- Further AI features after lifting restrictions on animating still photos.
Community Feedback
The company invites users to share their opinions in the discussion thread, reminding them to stay respectful and follow community guidelines.