Memories, finally organized

Windows Photos opens images up to 30% faster

Microsoft is reworking the Photos app in Windows 11 with three new experiences aimed at Insiders testing them now. Speed gains are part of the pitch, and the new Gallery pulls photos scattered across PC, OneDrive and iCloud into one place.

Oct 20, 2026 | Felipe Santos | Software

Windows 11 is getting three new Photos experiences, a Gallery, a native Editor, and a redesigned Viewer, which start rolling out to Windows Insiders today. The Viewer opens photos up to 30% faster. If your pictures are spread across your PC, OneDrive, and iCloud, the new Gallery brings them together.

Meet the new Photos — Microsoft

Key Features at a Glance

Unified Gallery: Photos and videos from your PC, OneDrive, and iCloud appear in one place, so you don't need to remember where a picture was saved.

Natural-language search: Describe a photo, such as “a family picnic by the lake,” to find it without a filename or exact date.

Moments: For OneDrive photos, related pictures are grouped into named memories, such as “Peaceful Moments,” with a recap at the end of each season that you can save as a video.

Native Editor: Loads 25% faster and organizes tools into Crop, Enhance, Repair, and Stylize, with HDR, HEIC, and WebP editing that keeps color, contrast, and format intact.

Relight: Position up to three light sources, set their colors, and use presets such as golden hour to fix lighting after the shot. It is expanding to all Windows 11 devices.

Redesigned Viewer: Starts 15% faster on average, up to 30% faster for HEIC images, adds SVG support, and includes an information button that shows file name, date, camera details, a location map, and a color histogram.