Photos on iOS is now smart enough to hide duplicates

Apple’s Photos app on iOS is getting smarter. 

The new version of the Photos app, available with the upcoming iOS 13 and launched during Apple’s WWDC keynote on Monday, makes it easier to locate the photos you really want to see, and uses AI smarts to declutter your photo library. It also comes with new editing tools, including the ability to edit videos. 

One important change users will notice is the layout. When in Photos app, you can now choose between seeing all your photos, or between several different views: one focusing on days, another on months, and another on years. 

And these aren’t just simple lists: Apple uses AI to create nice-looking layouts, showing you a collage of your photos and videos, and even autoplaying videos as you scroll along. 

In a particularly cute example, the app will know about certain events in your life and adjust accordingly. For example, if today’s your daughter’s birthday, the Years view will focus on your photos of her over the years. We didn’t see too many examples during the quick presentation, but it sounds like Apple could do a lot of cool things with this. 

There are other cool changes throughout the app. For example, when in All Photos view, you can just swipe in or out to zoom in or out (yes, just like on Android). 

Apple’s Craig Federighi said that Photos will now be smart enough to hide duplicate photos, a feature which we’ve seen on third-party apps but one that, frankly, really needed to be built into the main app. 

Finally, the Photos app now has better editing tools, and you can also edit videos right there in the app. The editor features controls for things like white balance, shadows, contrast and highlights. And yes, you will now be able to rotate your videos within the app.