Google+ gets a new update, introduces several new photo features

While Wednesday is often filled with Google updates, today has been particularly awesome so far. First, there was the announcement of the Google Now Launcher for Nexus and GPe devices. Then we learned about the Project Ara developer conference slated for April, and now Google is rolling out a major update for Google+!

Aside from the basic bug fixes that you’d expect, there’s also plenty of new photo-related features including non-destructive photo editing and brand new filters. Here’s the full change-log detailing exactly what’s new:

Non-destructive photo editing across devices Starting today you can start your edits on one device, and continue (or start over) on another. This means you can backup full-resolution photos from your desktop, edit them in seconds on your phone, then add some finishing touches from your tablet. (And you can revert to your originals at any time!) The technical term for this experience is non-destructive editing in the cloud, and we think you’ll really enjoy it.

Brand new filters and creative tools Now when you edit your photos, you’ll have a powerful set of tools (like crop and rotate), 1-touch filters, and Snapseed-inspired enhancements (like Drama, Retrolux, and HDR Scape). Mix and match to make your photos look their absolute best.

A single view of all your photos The new ‘All’ view displays your entire photo library — whether it’s on your current device, or backed up in the cloud. If your library is really large (> 10s of thousands of photos), the app won’t show all your photos initially. But stay tuned, because we’re supporting larger and larger libraries over the next few weeks.

An easy way to browse your photos by date In addition to search, there’s now another way to find your photos fast. Just swipe through your photos in the ‘All’ view, and look for the scroll bar on the right. Dragging the scroll bar up or down will quickly move you forwards or backwards in time.

In typical Google fashion, the update will be rolled out in stages, meaning that it probably has yet to reach many of you, though it doesn’t hurt to check Google Play. As soon as we’re able to get a hold of an APK we’ll update this post with a link. Anyone get the update yet, if so what do you think so far?