Google Photos is rolling out a new AI-powered feature called Key Moments that automatically highlights the most interesting parts of your videos
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Google Photos is rolling out a powerful new “Key Moments” feature that uses AI to help you find and share the most compelling parts of your videos. Let’s be honest: most of our videos contain a lot of “filler” and are much less interesting than they could be. Except for very special occasions, videos longer than a few seconds are much less likely to be re-watched or shared. So, if you like to record long videos, Key Moments could save you a lot of time and effort.
When you watch a video in Google Photos, the Key Moments feature automatically highlights the most engaging sections on the timeline. You can then jump straight to these moments and save them as individual clips with a single tap.
These Key Moments are introduced with an interactive ‘chip’ (a small, clickable label) that you can tap to either save that moment as a separate clip or remove the marker from the timeline if you don’t like it for any reason.
The feature demonstrates how Google Photos is increasingly leveraging AI to perform tedious everyday tasks. According to Google, the Key Moments feature identifies joyful, nostalgic, or visually rich moments within videos that are at least ten seconds long. The length of individual Key Moments isn’t specified, but Google’s example shows a segment of about five seconds.
Google Photos Key Moments: iOS Users Will Have To Wait
Key Moments is set to roll out this September, with some Android users already gaining access. Apple users will have to wait a little longer, but Google confirms that iOS support will be coming soon.
Automatically highlighting special moments within longer videos isn’t a new idea. Rival applications, such as GoPro Quick, offer similar features, and many may have already forgotten the ill-fated Google Clips smart camera, a product whose sole purpose was to find and record your most interesting moments automatically.
However, Key Moments stands out as a genuinely useful feature that requires virtually no effort or expertise from the user. It may seem like a simple addition, but the idea of a smartphone app being able to detect and isolate a moment of nostalgia in a video would have been impossible just a few years ago.
Follow @paul_monckton on Instagram.