Google Photos Will Use Machine Learning to Animate Your Still Shots - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Google Photos Will Use Machine Learning to Animate Your Still Shots

Google Photos is getting a new AI-driven feature that can take two similar pictures in your iPhone's camera roll and turn them into a single moving shot, reports The Verge.

google photos
Google says the feature achieves this by using machine learning to generate additional frames between the two images, which creates the appearance of movement.

If you've taken several shots in succession, for example, Google ‌Photos‌ can now bring the scene to life by turning it into a moving picture. Think of the result as a sort of synthesized version of a Live Photo.

goog photos cinematic moments

The new feature is called "Cinematic Moments," and is not to be confused with Google's existing Cinematic Photos, which use machine learning to add an animated depth effect to pictures.

The Cinematic Moments option is expected to make its way to both Android and iOS versions of the Google ‌Photos‌ app soon. Google ‌Photos‌ is a free download for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Popular Stories

google photos wardrobe

Google Photos to Get AI 'Wardrobe' Feature

Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:50 pm PDT by
Google Photos is getting a new wardrobe planning feature that will help you decide what to wear. AI will pull in images of clothing from the Google Photos library, organizing clothing items into a digital closet. You will be able to put items together to create outfits, and even virtually try them with a digital avatar on to see how they'll look. The Google Photos app will show all items of...
iOS 26

iOS 26.5 Features: Everything New in iOS 26.5

Monday May 11, 2026 5:09 pm PDT by
Apple released iOS 26.5 after a few months of beta testing, and while it doesn't have the Siri features we were hoping for since those are being held until iOS 27, there are a handful of useful changes worth knowing about. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. End-to-End Encryption for RCS Support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

11 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 18 Pro

Monday May 11, 2026 9:01 am PDT by
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a...

Top Rated Comments

Zab the Fab Avatar
65 months ago

I don’t know why this is creepier than Live Photo’s. It’s a nice little effect. If Apple does something like this it’s called magical.
You don't know the difference between you recording reality and google AI creating a false reality with your photos?
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
65 months ago
Only Google can come with something that creepy
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stephen.R Avatar
65 months ago

don’t know why this is creepier than Live Photo’s.
Live Photos is literally a recording of a few seconds before and after the actual still photo. This is an advertising company analysing all your photos and determining the content of them.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
65 months ago
An algorithm smiling through the faces of children.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
65 months ago
Google will not be getting near my photos or my anything...
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
65 months ago

Instead of screaming "CREEPY!", I highly advise any of you to read the book "An Introduction to Statistical Learning: With Applications in R"
Huh? This is creepy not because:
- machine learning isn't cool.
- the result is not natural as others have said.

Both are completely missing the point. This is creepy because Google fabricates new realistically looking moving pictures with you in them. Doesn't matter if it's ML. It only matters where it will stop. Next thing: based on 10 pictures in your camera roll they will create movies of you in a surrounding of your choice. And after that activities of your choice, and so on. Completely faking reality. That's the creepy part.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)