On Monday, many of us will fire up our Apple devices and tune in to the WWDC Keynote Address. Rumors of new MacBooks and iPads have been swirling around for some time. But this is a developer conference, so software enjoys a spotlight as well. And for photographers, there may be a few unanticipated cameos.
Among the predictions of more integrated Artificial Intelligence in Apple technologies, few are talking about the ongoing evolution of Photos for macOS, an application that already leverages AI, and is bound to increase its role on that platform.
As Photos helps us make the transition from manual organization (star ratings, color labels, etc.) to object recognition, facial awareness, automatic geotagging (iPhones, et al), and intelligent grouping, we most likely won't see many UI changes, but will indeed experience greater depth in capability. And that's why this software is such a dark horse.
Experienced users know what I'm talking about. If I enter "San Jose" in the search box for my Photos app, it displays all the shots from that city. I've never used a San Jose keyword, caption, album, or anything else. But I do record an iPhone image or two that has a nearby timestamp with my other cameras, and Photos puts it all together. As it does with search words such as ocean, building, car, and hundreds of others. I don't spend time organizing stuff in this app. That's its job.
Yet, unless there's something really big in the works, I doubt that Photos will get much airtime on stage Monday. Maybe a mention. Something like, "and Photos is much smarter too." Somehow, that seems fitting for this little gem on an intelligent app.
Book or Videos: Photos for macOS
Explore the world of modern photography with my The Apple Photos Book for Photographers that features insightful text and beautiful illustrations.
And if you'd like to cozy up to a video at the same time, watch my latest lynda title, Photos for macOS Essential Training
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