Microsoft updates Photos app in Windows 11 with new slideshow options, brings back smudge repair tool
What you need to know
- Microsoft has announced a big update for the Photos app in Windows 11.
- The update adds a missing spot fix tool and introduces new slideshow options.
- There is also an updated timeline scroll bar and other general improvements.
Microsoft has announced a big update for the Photos app in Windows 11, which is already being distributed to insiders in the Dev and Canary channels. The update introduces several new features and quality-of-life improvements, including the return of the popular “spot fix” tool, which was removed from the app more than a year ago.
The Spot Fix feature was part of the Photos app in Windows 10, but was removed when the app was rewritten in 2021. Now Microsoft is bringing back the Spot Fix tool, which allows users to quickly and easily remove smudges or dust particles from photos.
In addition to the new spot correction tool, Microsoft is also adding new slideshow options to improve the quality of photo viewing. Slideshow mode now includes animations, smooth transitions and 25 different music soundtracks to choose from, grouped into different themes: calm, fun, energetic, sentimental and more.
Microsoft is also adding a new scroll bar interface to the All Photos view, which will make it easier to find photos taken years ago. Here’s a quick look at some of the other new additions
- Auto Enhance is now available for use without having to install the 93MB add-on.
- When importing photos from external devices, you can now drag and drop to select the photos you want and use the quick switch to confirm the selected files.
- Hidden iCloud Photos will no longer appear in the gallery.
- Fixed an issue that was causing audio in video files to be muted by default. The app now plays sound by default and saves user settings for all videos.
- Copying and pasting a photo from the Photos app to Outlook and Teams now defaults to pasting the image inline instead of adding an attachment.
- Multi-Select Photos: Holding down the SHIFT key while selecting photos in the gallery now allows you to select multiple consecutive photos; holding down the CTRL key allows you to select multiple non-sequential photos.
The new Photos app is available in preview now for insiders in the Dev and Canary channel, and the update can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store. The app version is 2023.11050.2013.0 or higher.