Microsoft has been working on a major update for the Photos app, and now it looks like the company is already in process with the experimenting phase as they test out a bunch of new features which are more or less inspired from Apple’s and Google’s products.
According to a report from WindowsCentral, Microsoft has currently been testing a smart search feature which relies on artificial intelligence to identify people and objects which show up in photos. They then automatically create groups which filter photos by faces, months, colors, and things.
Features like these have already been implemented in photo apps on rival platforms which include Apple and Google as well. It seems Microsoft is clearly trying to bring its own solutions in line with what others are offering.
The Windows 10 Photos app is at this point well behind alternative solutions, and although it slowly evolves from a basic image viewer to a more advanced product, updates continue to land at a rather slow pace, more often with new OS updates.
Now, with the upcoming Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the Photos app will bet big on AI. It is important to note that Microsoft will not use cloud power for the features mentioned above. Instead, all the magic will be performed locally, which means an internet connection is not needed.
Microsoft will offer options to block the feature, so face detection can be disabled. But Microsoft expects the majority of users to keep it enabled on their devices.
This feature is expected to become available to all users in September.
