While the native Windows Photos app is a solid image viewer, it is not much of a photo editor. With the new Windows 11 Photos app, Microsoft is aiming to change that. Yes, the company is rolling out new editing tools that should make changing your images easier.
According to XDA-Developers, the update (2021.21120.8011.0) is rolling out to Windows 11 users now. All users too, so this is not an Insider preview. This is possible because Microsoft now updates Photos – and some other Windows apps – individually.
Either way, the new update makes a few interesting editing upgrades, such as placing the cropping tool below the image for easier access. Furthermore, users can select which aspect ratio they want to crop to. Also in cropping, it is not possible to adjust the cropping area without losing resolution.
Next up, Microsoft is making it easier to edit transparent images in the Windows 11 Photos app. Specifically, the checkered background of these images is now visible to highlight which areas of the image are transparent.
More Editing Changes
Moving onto Adjustments, where controls are now on by default under the tab. Microsoft says it has removed spot fix, red eye removal, and clarity. Under the filters tab there are some new selections available.
Drawing on an image is easier and now sits under its own feature tab called Mark-up.
Microsoft launched the new Photos app for Windows 11 back in September. Aside from matching the Flow aesthetic of Windows 11, the new Photos experience also adds WinUI 2.6 controls. Other new additions include more ways to view a photo and Mica effects. Microsoft is also adding a better cropping menu and faster access to the details page.
Tip of the day: Hard drives are getting faster and more affordable every day, but unfortunately, their moving parts will always make them loud and mean their power draw isn't insignificant. This can be a particular issue for those with laptops, leading many to wonder how to turn off a hard disk after it reaches an idle state. In our tutorial we are showing you Windows 10: How to Turn off Hard Disk after Idle to Save Power .
Last Updated on February 14, 2022 8:17 pm CET by Markus Kasanmascheff
