Google Photos hasn't seen any substantial interface changes since its inception as a standalone app, minus the addition of the bottom bar in 2016. Bigger changes are headed our way, though, following the introduction of the new account picker on the heels. They come in the form of a redesigned UI that does away with the always accessible search bar up top and the hamburger menu. However, it also makes the bottom bar more intuitive and gives us long-awaited features.

Once you receive the redesign, you'll notice that the always accessible search bar up top has been removed, making way for a simple "Google Photos" header that also loses the hamburger menu. This top bar is followed by the familiar Memories section and your most recent images further below. With the hamburger menu and the search bar gone, the bottom bar has seen a rearrangement. It has increased its number of items from four to five, namely Photos, Search, For you, Sharing, and Library. That means you have to head to another tab to search for your images, which is a decidable deemphasis of the feature.

Left: Old interface. Right: Note the redesigned bottom bar and the inconvenient access to search.

When you tap the search tab, the keyboard won't immediately open. You'll instead see a few suggestions that are visually much more pleasing than the ones you'd receive in the old interface. People & Pets previews are much bigger, and places and things suggestions are accompanied by photos. This makes the tab look pretty much like the old album tab that (weirdly enough) gave you access to these sections, too.

When you scroll down, you also get specific search terms in the form of categories, like "screenshots," "selfies," "videos," and more. You can additionally easily access recently uploaded photos there, which helps you find those five-year-old images you've just uploaded from your computer — previously, you had to use a URL hack on Google Photo's web interface to make them surface. Google actually promised to add this feature to the app, so it's great to see it's now there.

Left: Old search interface. Middle & Right: The new search tab offers many more suggestions at a glance.

The album tab is gone in the redesign, but its content lives on in the new Library section that also collects some items that were previously in the hamburger menu, like device folders, the archive, trash, and some "utilities" — we guess the latter gives you access to tools like "Free up space" and "Manage your library," which you could previously find in the sidebar, too. The photo book store might be located there, as well, but it's also possible that it has been moved to the account picker menu in the top right (Update: It's not in the account picker.)

Left: Old Albums interface. Right: New library tab.

The interface is rolling out as a server-side update, so there's nothing you can do to get the new UI right away. In fact, it looks like a very limited release as none of us at here Android Police have received it yet — we've got to thank our tipster Thiago for sharing the screenshots. It might help if you use a recent version of the app, though, so be sure to check if you've got the latest release from the Play Store.