Google has released Android 16 QPR2 Beta 3, introducing updates to the platform’s Photo Picker. The changes, which include a date scrubber and voice-activated search, are designed to make it easier for users to locate photos and videos for sharing.
The Android Photo Picker is a system component that allows users to share media with an application without granting that app access to their entire photo and video library. Its interface is organized into two sections: a primary “Photos” tab that lists all media in reverse chronological order, and a “Collections” tab that displays albums created by the user. Locating a specific image can be a prolonged process if the file is not recent or has not been manually sorted into a collection, which the new features are intended to resolve.
With the rollout of the new beta, the Photo Picker now includes a date scrubber. This feature is similar to the navigation tool found in the Google Photos application. When a user scrolls within the “Photos” tab, a handle appears on the screen. This handle can be dragged, allowing the user to jump directly to a specific month in their gallery. This functionality is designed to reduce the time required to find media, especially for users with large photo collections, by eliminating the need for continuous scrolling. The tool’s effectiveness is greatest when the user can recall the month the desired photo was taken.
A second update enhances the search tool that was introduced to the Photo Picker in a previous release. While the original search tool only supported text-based queries, the version in Android 16 QPR2 Beta 3 adds a microphone button to the search box. Tapping this icon launches a voice input dialog. This allows users to perform a search through their photo collection using voice commands, offering a method for hands-free operation when looking for a specific file.
These two improvements are currently accessible only to users running Android 16 QPR2 Beta 3. Google plans to distribute the date scrubber and voice search enhancements to older versions of the Android operating system. The company has stated this will be accomplished via a future Google Play System Update. A specific date for this wider rollout has not been provided.
