Google has launched a new screensaver app to keep your Mac computer occupied.
Google has long showcased a selection of Google+ Photos through Google Fiber and Chromecast devices, and recently on the Pixel phones. And now, the company is bringing these photos to Mac. Google has released Features Photos screensavers for Mac computers, which includes some popular and high-quality photos shared and liked by Google+ users. The app is available for free.
“We’re pleased to be able to make these beautiful photos by our members even more accessible by bringing them to your computers and phones. With our new Featured Photos screensaver for Mac, you can display stunning, high-resolution photography from our Google+ members whenever your computer is inactive,” Google product manager Neil Inala wrote in his blog post.
These photos are selected based on a set criteria, so there are no pictures featuring people, text, or watermarks, and all photos are landscape oriented with a minimum 1080p resolution. Each photo is attributed to its owner via a Google+ profile link in the corner of the screen. Users with multiple screen set-ups see a different photo on each screen.
The Google product manager, in his post, also invited photographers to contribute to the collection of pictures. He wrote, “If you enjoy taking photos and would like to have yours considered, all you have to do is share them publicly on Google+ (if you don’t want to be considered, you can turn this option off in your Google+ settings). If you’re an avid photographer and want to increase your chance of being considered, we encourage you to join the Google+ Create program. It’s a great opportunity to showcase your work globally.” ALSO READ: Google Pixel’s new Wallpapers app is now available for all Android devices
Also, for Android users, the Google Wallpapers app that came pre-installed on the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, was recently rolled out to all Android devices. The app is available on Google Play Store for free. Just like the Features Photos, the app offers a bunch of high quality pictures, including some landscape photography, architectural shots, abstract textures, and Google Earth satellite images. Each category has more images than you would probably want to count.
Along with a myriad of apps for Android, Google keeps working on app across platforms. Earlier this year, Google found a way to make the Live Photos a lot more useful than it ever was. It launched an iOS app called Motion Stills that converts these Live Photos into motion GIFs. This app from Google Research acts as a virtual camera operator for Apple Live Photos. It uses video stabilization technology to convert the otherwise shaky Live Photo into a smooth GIF, which can be easily shared. ALSO READ: Google Pixel bug reportedly distorting screenshots sent from an Apple iPhone 7 Plus
However, if you take a moment, the bigger story here is how Google is slowly taking over the iOS app experience away from Apple. Google’s Maps are already more useful than Apple Maps. After Apple opened the keyboard for third-party integrations in iOS 9, Google launched the Gboard app that allows users to directly do Google web searches from the keyboard within any app. Google Photos already provides automatic cloud backup of photos stored on your phone. Inbox and Gmail apps provide a better user experience if you use Gmail as your email service. Then there is YouTube which is still the most preferred video streaming app. We talked about Motion Stills which improves one of Apple’s core features. And now the screensaver app. This clearly doesn’t bode well for Apple.