Google Photos will soon be able to add a 3D effect to 2D photos

Google Photos will soon be able to take your 2D images and make them look like they are 3D, the company announced in a blog post on Tuesday. Google calls these types of images “cinematic photos,” and they are a new type of image that the app can display as part of the Memories feature.

Here’s a GIF from Google comparing a 2D image to a cinematic photo. I think the feature looks pretty impressive:


To create cinematic photos, “we use machine learning to predict the depth of an image and produce a 3-D representation of the scene, even if the original image doesn’t contain depth information from the camera,” writes Jamie Aspinall, a product manager of Google Photos. in Tuesday’s blog. “We then animate a virtual camera for a smooth panning effect, just like with movies.”

Google says that Google Photos automatically takes cinematic photos and they appear in the recent highlights section above your photo grid.

The company is also adding new themes for Memories. Now you can see memories about important people in your life, and soon Google Photos will show you memories about your favorite things (Google gave the example of sunsets) and activities (like baking or walking).

According to Google, these new features in Memories will be available to users in the coming month.

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