Photos (Apple)

Photos

Screenshot of Photos
Developer(s)	Apple
Stable release	2 / August 30, 2016
Development status	Active
Written in	Objective-C, Cocoa, Cocoa Touch (iOS, watchOS)
Operating system	macOS iOS tvOS watchOS
Type	Photos
License	Proprietary
Website	www.apple.com/macos/photos/

Photos is a photo management and editing application developed by Apple. It was released as a bundled app in iOS 8 on September 17, 2014–replacing the Camera Roll–and released as a bundled app to OS X Yosemite users in OS X 10.10.3 update on April 8, 2015. It later released for v.10 of tvOS on September 13, 2016.

History

In June 2014, it was announced that Apple planned to discontinue programs iPhoto and Aperture, to be replaced by a new program, Photos, at some point in 2015.^[1][2] Photos was included with OS X Yosemite 10.10.3, released as a free update to users on April 8, 2015.^[3][4][5]

On September 13, 2016, the app was later included in version 10 of tvOS.^[6]

Features

Photos is intended to be less complex than its predecessor.^[3] Photos are organized by "moment", a combination of time and location metadata attached to the photo.^[5]

Editing

Photos tucks complex editing tools into several simple controls by default. Photos also "reward curiosity and additional clicks with ever more granular manipulation capabilities". A one-click automatic enhance button is also available.^[7]

iCloud Photo Library

iCloud Photo Library is heavily integrated into the program, keeping photos and videos in sync with various Apple devices designated by the user (such as Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches), including edits and album structures. Storage can be bought in a number of tiers, starting at 5 GB (free) and going up to 1 TB.^[8] While iCloud integration is still optional, it is much more core to the program than it was with iPhoto.^[7]

Professional printing

Like its predecessor, Photos includes a number of options for professional printing of photos, which can then optionally be turned into books or calendars and mailed to an address. With Photos, Apple has added new types of prints, including square sizes and the ability to print panoramas.^[5]

Sharing

iCloud Photo Sharing allows sharing photos with others. Others can view, like or comment existing shared photos or contribute new photos to the shared album. Other ways of sharing includes e-mail, social platform that integrates through iOS Extensions, or Apple's peer-to-peer AirDrop technology.

Criticism

One major point of criticism that has been raised is the loss of functionality of Photos in comparison to its predecessors. In particular, photos can no longer be ordered as events but are either automatically ordered chronologically into moments or they have to be put into albums, and the latter does not allow for automatic sorting.^[9][10] (Smart albums, with customized user-defined rules, will allow for sorting).^[11] With OS X El Capitan, only the latest version of iPhoto still operates, and iPhoto has been removed from the app store, so customers who upgraded to El Capitan but did not have the latest iPhoto were locked out of iPhoto without warning, pushing them to use Photos. ^[12]

References

1. "The demise of Apple's Aperture and iPhoto: What does it mean for you?". The Next Web. June 27, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
2. Panzarino, Matthew (June 27, 2014). "Apple To Cease Development Of Aperture And Transition Users To Photos For OS X". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
3. Klosowski, Thorin (April 8, 2015). "OS X 10.10.3 Arrives with New Photos App". Lifehacker. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
4. Simmons, Dan (April 8, 2015). "Apple releases Mac app to store photos in iCloud". BBC News. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
5. "About the OS X Yosemite v10.10.3 Update". Apple. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
6. Price, David (27 October 2016). "New tvOS 10 update | tvOS 10's 8 cool new features for your Apple TV". MacWorld. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
7. Etherington, Darrell (April 8, 2015). "Photos For OS X Review". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
8. "iCloud Photo Library FAQ". Apple. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
9. "How Photos handles content". Apple. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
10. "Why does Apple Photos dispense with Events?". https://www.quora.com/Why-does-the-new-Apple-Photos-app-April-2015-dispense-with-the-Events-paradigm-of-iPhoto. External link in |publisher= (help);
11. "Automatically sort pictures". LifeHacker. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
12. "Can't update iPhoto". Apple. Retrieved 3 August 2016.