Google is seemingly improving its Photos video editor with more Instagram-oriented text tools, according to evidence tracked down in a recent version of the app for Android. An APK teardown of Google Photos 7.49 hints at a new text editor with many more options, including support for multiple fonts, large color libraries, alignment controls, and background highlights—all far beyond the current app’s one-yawn, one-font, seven-color format.
What the APK teardown reveals about Google Photos text tools
Strings and assets found within build 7.49 indicate a new text overlay experience in the video editor. As testers pointed out, a few of the font styles directly mimic the visual style that Instagram Stories and Reels helped popularize—though these are new names and look slightly different in form. The update also includes left, center, and right alignment options, and the ability to add a colored highlight behind text—one that’s handy if you want some text to remain readable atop busy footage.
Color selection appears to be much more gradated than in the past. No longer is it just the three main primary colors in a strip format but something that suggests some 30 shades jostling for prominence, all at closer intervals: this will enable creators to better match brand palettes or scene colors. Conspicuously absent (at least in the current code) are an eyedropper tool and automatic color suggestions, both signature features on Meta’s apps. That said, the depth is exactly what makes for quick social-ready edits in Photos.
As usual for teardowns, some details may be placeholders and interface polish will continue in upcoming updates. But the variety and range of options in this build sync with a broader, under-construction video editor rollout that Google has reportedly been testing, rather than some minor adjustment.
Why this update to Google Photos text tools matters for creators
Photos is the native media hub on so many Android devices, and for a lot of people this is where quick edits get done before sharing to another platform. Bringing the latest text tools directly into the app means there’s less need to bounce through third-party editors just to add captions, callouts, or stylized titles. That’s crucial for short clips bound for social feeds, where animated overlays and bold fonts matter as much as the footage they cover.
There’s also a practical side. Travel recaps, event highlights, and footage of family outings all benefit from readable text to set the mood—schedule ticks in a minimalist font for a travel diary, or cute captions with pastel highlights for a birthday montage. With a wider variety of fonts and more precise color control, people can create those looks more quickly, and then keep it all in their Photos library without the hassle of extra exports and recompressions.
The shift also reflects industry trends. Stories features draw in hundreds of millions of daily users, Meta has said in the past, while short-form video is a dominant medium across platforms. When the audience is expecting slick overlays, the baseline edit tools should follow suit.
How Google Photos’ new text tools compare to Instagram and TikTok
The potential Photos tools are directionally similar to Instagram’s text editor, featuring multiple fonts, alignment, and highlight backgrounds. Where Meta’s apps manage to go an extra step is in the form of conveniences like auto color matching and an on-canvas eyedropper, as well as a deep catalog of animated text styles. The current evidence for Photos doesn’t confirm the animation presets or timeline controls for text, though it’s possible they will come later if Google decides to continue expanding its video editor.
Given a good set of defaults to start (clean typography, smart contrast, and quick adjustments), Google can appeal to most people’s casual editing needs. Power creators may continue to use dedicated apps like CapCut, InShot, or desktop suites, but a well-designed in-app text layer will narrow the distance for more everyday Stories and Reels-style posts.
Availability, rollout, and caveats for Google Photos text tools
Not many people have these features, and they seem to be server-side flags tied to something other than the 7.49 build. Like any experimental feature, Google may adjust the interface, delay it from being pushed out, or decide not to ship some of the options at all. If and when the text editor becomes a public release, you can assume it’ll be a piecemeal rollout, beginning on Android and possibly following up for iOS if parity is still the objective throughout Photos.
For now, the takeaway is pretty clear: Google is enthusiastically updating its Photos video editor, and this next round of tools appears likely to be positioned where users are already spending time creating—namely quickly, on their phones, with text that feels at home in social feeds.