X

Take a look at what's new with Google+ (pictures)

Google's social network gets a lot of love at I/O 2013. We take a photographic look at how Google+ is improving.

Antuan Goodwin
Antuan Goodwin gained his automotive knowledge the old fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway and picking up speeding tickets. From drivetrain tech and electrification to car audio installs and cabin tech, if it's on wheels, Antuan is knowledgeable.
Antuan Goodwin
GooglePlusLove.jpg
1 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Take a look at what's new with Google+

Google's social network gets a lot of love at I/O 2013, including a complete redesign, new chat features, new photo management and enhancement tools, and deeper integration with the rest of the Google's tools and services.
GooglePlusRedesign.jpg
2 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Today's feed is flat

Google started with the look and feel of the Google+ interface, calling the current, single-column design "flat".
GooglePlusRedesignNewLook.jpg
3 of 24 James Martin/CNET

The new Google+

The new Google+ stream features a simpler design that expands to display up to three columns to fill today's high-resolution screens.
GooglePlusRedesignLargePhotos.jpg
4 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Crossing columns

For photographic and video content, the "tiles" (which are reminiscent of Google Now's) can expand to fill multiple columns. The result is potentially much more eye-catching and adds variation to the stream.
Google+_auto_tagging.png
5 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Automatic tagging

Google's Knowledge Graph technology is able to parse the content of each Google+ post and automatically tag the content for easy discovery and retrieval. Manual hash-tagging is no longer necessary. Google+ is even able to determine the subject of a post based on photographic content.
Google+_tab_scrolling.png
6 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Discovering content

By clicking a tag attached to a Google+ post, users can click through to related posts made public on the social network to discover more information and content.
OldGooglePlus.png
7 of 24 Screenshot by Antuan Goodwin/CNET

Old Google+ stream

Here's a better look at my personal Google+ stream before the update.
OldGooglePlusNew.png
8 of 24 Screenshot by Antuan Goodwin/CNET

New Google+ stream

After the update, the design has been simplified. On my MacBook Air, the new stream displays only two columns. On a higher resolution screen, there are three.
YouHave.jpg
9 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Circles illustrated

Google illustrated how the circles that Google+ users into which organize their contacts are more flexible than simple lists of friends.
189b0321-1deb-40b2-910b-9843d380c1e8.jpg
10 of 24 James Martin/CNET

What about Google Babel?

Google has been long rumored to be combining its disparate communications services into one service under the name Google Babel. The unified messaging service debuted today under the repurposed name Google+ Hangouts.
HangoutsAnnouncement.jpg
11 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Google+ Hangouts

Hangouts essentially operates like Google Talk did and will replace the service completely.
HangoutsOnMobile.jpg
12 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Hangouts on mobile

The app rolls in features that remind me of the old, forgotten Google+ Messenger that debuted alongside the social network, including group chats that users can drop into and out of. Access to a chat history and the ability to privately message off the record are features that have been surfaced from Google Talk.

The Hangouts app is available now for Android and iOS.
CameraPlusCloud.jpg
13 of 24 James Martin/CNET

15GB of photo storage

Google wants to encourage users to upload full-resolution photos to Google+, so it announced that it is bumping up free photo storage from 5GB to 15GB. Actually, what Google means is that it's combining Google Drive, Gmail, and Photo storage into one shared 15GB pot, but we've already covered that.
FullSizePhotoUpload.jpg
14 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Full resolution photos

Google compares the size of a 5MP photo upload to the average size of other social networks to illustrate how much more resolution it wants to offer its users.
GooglePlusPhotos.jpg
15 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Automatic sorting

Google not only wants to allow users to upload ludicrous amounts of photography, it also wants to help them to sort through the hundreds of photos taken on, for example, a vacation.
AutomaticHighlight.jpg
16 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Only the best photos surfaced

For example, if you dump 639 vacation photos into a gallery, Google's algorithms will automatically find the best 21 and present them. The remaining 618 photos deemed not-so-great are still there, just not highlighted.
AutomaticHighlightLooksFor.jpg
17 of 24 James Martin/CNET

How automatic sorting works

The automatic sorting software looks for photos that are exposed properly and not blurry, that feature people who are smiling, and landmarks. The software can also help to hide photos that appear to be duplicates.
DarkroomDatacenter.jpg
18 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Your darkroom is now a datacenter

In addition to highlighting your best photos, the new Google+ will also feature online digital darkroom tools that will help users to tweak and improve those photos.
Enhancement1.jpg
19 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Auto Enhance

Auto Enhance analyzes the photo and automatically adjusts the brightness, contrast, color, and noise in an attempt to make a bland photo better.
EnhancementBeforeAfter.jpg
20 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Auto Enhance (before and after)

In the example demonstrated, a bland sky in transformed into a dramatic cloudscape at the touch of a button. I wonder if we're seeing some bleed-over over technologies that Google acquired in its purchase of Android app Snapseed.
NewPhotoHighlights.jpg
21 of 24 James Martin/CNET

What else gets adjusted?

In addition to the brightness, contrast, and other standard adjustments, Google's Auto Enhance also makes a number of other tweaks to the photo to create a pleasing image.
SkinSoftening.jpg
22 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Skin Softening

Skin Softening is one of the adjustments highlighted in Google's presentation. The function appears to be a version of noise reduction that is specific to human skin. When applied, it smooths out wrinkles, softens blemishes, and generally make people look better. The Google I/O audience was, understandably, not enthused.
AutoAwesome.jpg
23 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Auto Awesome

The most interesting part of the new photo tools portion of the Google+ presentation was the new Auto Awesome functions. Geared toward having fun with your photos, Auto Awesome allows users to create collages, animated GIFs, and high dynamic range photos from a series of snaps, or to automatically find the best smile in a batch of portraits.
NewFeatures.jpg
24 of 24 James Martin/CNET

Coming soon (but available now, for some)

The new Hangouts is available now on the Web and on Android and iOS devices. The new Google+ design and photo features will be rolling out over the next few weeks.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos