Canary and Dev Insiders can check out new viewer and import improvements to Microsoft Photos

Microsoft has made a surprise addition for members of the Windows Insider Program in the Canary and Dev channels. They can check out a new version of the Microsoft Photos app for Windows 11 with some improvements to its viewer and import features.

Members of the Canary and Dev Insider channels can update the Photos app with the version number 2024.11060.20004.0 or higher to get these features. This has just started to roll out so the new version may not be available for all those Insider users immediately. Here is what you can expect:

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: We have grouped all the Microsoft apps shortcuts together so you can quickly and easily navigate to the full photo gallery from the viewer, open in Clipchamp or open in OneDrive.

Dynamic Zoom Slider: Rather than being limited to only pre-set image sizes, we’ve introduced a slider that lets you view your images anywhere from 10% to 800% of their original size. Effortlessly achieve your desired image size with our easy-to-use draggable slider, enabling precise adjustments for a better photo viewing experience.

Photo Metadata Information: The size and dimensions of your photos are now visibly displayed at the screen’s lower edge, fulfilling a feature many users have asked for.

Device Import Options: We’ve introduced 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 multi-process performance lifts that improve viewer load time by 2.1 times.

You can check out the full blog post here.