Hot on the heels of the new “Best of 2021” Memories collection rollout, Google Photos is adding a few other nifty additions, including improved "Cinematic photos" and a new "People & Pets" widget.

In a blog post on Thursday, Google announced (via 9to5Google) that it’s rolling out a new "Pets & People" widget on Android, allowing you to surface a photo album of your pet and closed ones on your home screen "as you use your phone throughout the day." To try it out, open the widget picker by long pressing on the home screen and look for the “Pets & People” widget. When you drag the widget on the home screen, it will take you to the Google Photos app where you’ll be able to pick pets and people that you want to be displayed in the widget. You can choose up to 10 faces, with the widget able to surface existing as well as newly added photos of selected faces throughout the day.

Pixel 6 Pro displaying Pets and People widget on the home screen

The new "Pets & People" widget is widely available with the latest version of the Google Photos app.

Google has also announced an update to "Cinematic photos," a feature that lets you "experience your photos in a more vivid way" by producing a 3D video of the moment. The new update makes Cinematic photos come to life in a new way. It now uses machine learning to fill in parts of the background, allowing the virtual camera to move more freely and making the subject stand out.

Animated GIF showing how to view a Cinematic Photo in the Memories section of the Google Photos app.

Finally, Google says the Memories feature is now widely available on the Nest Hub's Your day tab.

Google Photos recently added several new Memories, including best of the month and trip and event-based memories. New Memories feature curated selections of photos and videos from your recent trips, festive seasons like New Year’s Eve, or important events like birthdays and graduations.

Google Photos Developer: Google LLC
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