Microsoft Photos for Windows

Microsoft Photos is a photo and video management application built into Windows that allows users to view, organize, and edit media from various sources. With its redesigned interface and new features, it supports viewing files from your PC, OneDrive, and even iCloud Photos (on Windows 11), offering a streamlined media experience.

Microsoft Photos supports importing from cameras, phones, and external drives, helping consolidate media easily. Users can edit, compare, and back up images with built-in tools and AI enhancements. The app offers an accessible, user-friendly gallery experience that integrates seamlessly into the Windows environment for everyday photo and video management.

Convenient and helpful for everyday use

Microsoft Photos includes a fast and responsive All Photos gallery that collects content from your PC, OneDrive, and connected devices, making it convenient to view media in one place. It offers multi-view comparison, basic editing, slideshow creation, and tagging for better organization. However, some useful features — like iCloud Photos integration and enhanced slideshow options — are limited to Windows 11, which may frustrate users on older versions of the operating system.

The editing features are designed for quick, casual adjustments. Users can crop, enhance, apply filters, and use AI tools such as Background Blur and Generative Erase for basic refinements. While these tools are helpful for everyday use and social sharing, this software is not ideal for professional-grade editing, lacking advanced controls, layer support, and precision tools needed by users who require more detailed or technical editing capabilities.

The program has some competition, such as Google Photos, Adobe Photoshop Express, and IrfanView. Google Photos provides robust cloud capabilities, smart search, and cross-platform syncing. Adobe Photoshop Express offers more advanced editing features for users seeking greater control. IrfanView excels at fast image viewing with extensive plugin support. Still, this app remains a convenient default for casual, everyday use within the Windows ecosystem, especially for users who prefer built-in tools.

Solid choice for basic editing and organization

Microsoft Photos is a capable and accessible media viewer for Windows that offers cloud storage, basic editing, and organization tools in a user-friendly interface. While not a replacement for professional software, it handles everyday tasks well. Its redesigned layout, AI features, and iCloud support on Windows 11 make it a solid choice for users seeking essential, built-in media tools across devices.

• Easy Access to Key Photos Actions: Important actions such as "Start slideshow" and "Share" are now right on the main viewing screen instead of hidden inside the overflow menu
• Dedicated section for Microsoft apps: All the Microsoft apps shortcuts have been grouped so you can easily launch Windows Photos, Clipchamp or OneDrive
• Photo metadata details and the dynamic zoom slider can now be found at the bottom of the screen.
• Device Import Options: A new feature that lets you choose and manage when to begin transferring photos and videos from local devices at your convenience.
• Viewer Performance: This release also comes with our new WASDK multi-process performance lifts that improve viewer load time by 2.1 times
• Edit with Designer:  An integration with Microsoft Designer so you can access AI image editing tools directly from the Photos app. Available on Windows 11 to start and currently limited to users within specific countries