Google Photos adds new video effects for Pixel owners and Google One subscribers

Google Photos comes preloaded on practically every Android phone and tablet that has Google Mobile Services. But thanks to the immense utility of the app, most people don’t consider it as burdensome bloatware. Google is making Google Photos even more useful with new Effects, but this time, only for Pixel owners and Google One subscribers.

Announced via the Google Photos Twitter account, Google Photos can now add effects over videos. Effects have begun rolling out to Pixel owners and to paid Google One subscribers.

Video effects are available on my Pixel 7a, but I can’t see the same on my other phones, even though I am a Google One subscriber. This could be a staged rollout at play, and I hope to see the feature arrive on my Google One account.

Video effects co-exist alongside filters: filters add a cosmetic layer over the video, while effects modify the base characteristic of the video (best seen in the Layouts filter). You can use a video effect alongside a filter.

Here are all the filters that are available in Google Photos:

• Dust mix
• Paper tear
• B&W film
• Lomo
• Light leak
• Film mood
• Chromatic
• Fish eye
• Vintage
• Layouts
• Retro film
• Poster

To add an effect to your video, follow these steps on a Google Pixel smartphone or any phone with a Google One subscription:

• Open Google Photos and open the video you want to edit.
• Click on Edit in the bottom bar.
• Side scroll to the Effects tab.
• Here you can see previews of all the available effects, but you can also click on the effect to see a preview of it applied to your video. Previews may take longer to generate on longer videos.
• Click on Save Copy to save the edited copy of your video. Your original video remains preserved as well.

Google has not announced any plans to open the feature to all Google Photos users, so don’t hold your breath.