Google Photos Tests Locking Color Pop Behind a Google One Paywall (xda-developers.com) 21
According to XDA Developers, Google is testing locking the Color Pop feature in the Google Photos app behind a paywall, requiring users to sign up for a Google One subscription to access this feature, and presumably other photo-editing features in the future. From the report: Shortly after we published our teardown of Google Photos 5.18 confirming that a Google One paywall for photo editing features is in the works, a reader in the comments section informed us that the Color Pop feature is locked behind a Google One membership for him. We've attached the two screenshots shared by the user, and we've also added two screenshots showing off the Color Pop feature in action (this was from a Google account that doesn't have a Google One subscription).
The feature essentially keeps the subject in color while turning the background black and white (or vice versa), allowing the subject to "pop." It's a fun feature, and seemingly one Google thinks is advanced enough to convince people to pay for. It's unclear what other premium editing features will be put behind a paywall. However, we recently uncovered strings of code in version 5.18 that suggest Google will introduce preprocessing suggestions and a Skypalette feature, which will include new filters to help users edit the sky. UPDATE: Google has clarified that the Color Pop being reported above is not the same Color Pop feature that's available in Google Photos today. "Right now in Google Photos, Color Pop is only available on photos taken in portrait mode, meaning there is depth information available, which is especially helpful in making the background of an image pop," reports 9to5Google. "The version of Color Pop that will be locked behind Google One will work on photos without depth information. Likely this version attempts to use machine learning to automatically differentiate the foreground from the background."
"More importantly, this means that Google Photos will not be putting an existing feature behind a Google One paywall. Instead, it seems Google intends to create new features to incentivize Google One subscribers."
The feature essentially keeps the subject in color while turning the background black and white (or vice versa), allowing the subject to "pop." It's a fun feature, and seemingly one Google thinks is advanced enough to convince people to pay for. It's unclear what other premium editing features will be put behind a paywall. However, we recently uncovered strings of code in version 5.18 that suggest Google will introduce preprocessing suggestions and a Skypalette feature, which will include new filters to help users edit the sky. UPDATE: Google has clarified that the Color Pop being reported above is not the same Color Pop feature that's available in Google Photos today. "Right now in Google Photos, Color Pop is only available on photos taken in portrait mode, meaning there is depth information available, which is especially helpful in making the background of an image pop," reports 9to5Google. "The version of Color Pop that will be locked behind Google One will work on photos without depth information. Likely this version attempts to use machine learning to automatically differentiate the foreground from the background."
"More importantly, this means that Google Photos will not be putting an existing feature behind a Google One paywall. Instead, it seems Google intends to create new features to incentivize Google One subscribers."
Meh (Score:2)
I get it... you want me to be outraged... but I'm not.
Re: (Score:2)
I am. Not because they're charging. But because it's bundling and a ridiculous price point with perpetual payments. If it does the work locally, then sell an enabler app for one time purchase. If it's cloud composed, then anything more than 25 per month is exorbitant. I base that argument on the fact that most people don't need paid additional storage.
Re: (Score:2)
25 cents. Even the cent symbol is too unicody for slashdot.
Re: (Score:2)
Google One isn't terrible value, not the cheapest as you only get 100GB storage but not the most expensive.
Thing is I have an old Google plan that gives me 55GB for free which is enough. If Google One included ad-free YouTube I might be tempted, but for now I'll just stick with an ad blocker. I don't want the premium YouTube shows, just ad-free.
Re: Meh (Score:2)
But but ... think of all the spoiled no sense of reality youtubers you will be essentially demonetizing! How ever will they continue their perpetual 18yo level of maturity now that they are approaching 30? ;-)
Re: Meh (Score:2)
Im too exhausted from every other you-should-be-outraged article. There seems to be 5 a day now.
Re: (Score:2)
I think they want you to be intrigued. Can't speak for you, but I'm not that.
I'm not against creativity in photos, but to me the photos which have been diddled so that only part of them is in color look weird, and tacky. Like, what a cheapassed effect...
Portrait mode? (Score:2)
Obviously they're not referring to the traditional "taller than it is wide" portrait mode since that has no more depth information than landscape mode.
I assume they have some sort of stereoscopic (or more) photograph mode in their camera app that synthesizes depth information as well. I can only speculate why they would call that portrait mode when that term already has a common decades-old definition that's already to photographs. My speculation begins: "Hey, I have an idea about how we can really confu
And the answer is (Score:2)
What is "Things I'll never pay for or care about Alex"?
That looks like it would be interesting... (Score:2)
That looks like it would be interesting for approximately one photo.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: That looks like it would be interesting... (Score:2)
Unless you were hell bent convincing everyone you lived in Pleasantville.
Who? (Score:2)
"It's a fun feature, and seemingly one Google thinks is advanced enough to convince people to pay for. "
Hopefully not the people that won't even pay for their copy of Photoshop.
Re: Who? (Score:2)
Not really a photoshop dude, but doesnt Gimp prettymuch do everything your average person uses photoshop for?
Re: (Score:2)
Not really a photoshop dude, but doesnt Gimp prettymuch do everything your average person uses photoshop for?
I find it hard to believe that an average person uses Photoshop.
Shouldn't be too hard to work around (Score:2)
It looks like there are a number of background separators out there. [snaphow.com]
. Once you've isolated the background, doing a separate saturation adjustment on the two components is trivial. This is just a web-site and some JavaScript glue away from being broken, and I don't think Google could patent the algorithms.
Some people will pay for convenience though. Some people will pay 3X the going rate for bottled water at a convenience store.
reality filter (Score:3)
Bait then Charge (Score:1)