Microsoft is rebuilding the Photos app on Windows 11, and the early footage suggests the sluggish gallery many of us put up with is about to change. In a Windows Experience Blog post, Microsoft introduced an all-new Gallery, a native Editor and a redesigned Viewer. The new experiences started rolling out to Windows Insiders on 15 October. Microsoft plans a broader release to all users later this year, though it hasn’t given an exact date.
The Gallery is the biggest day-to-day change. It brings photos and videos from your PC, OneDrive and Apple iCloud into one view. You can search by describing a picture, such as “sunset at the beach”, filter by the people in it, or browse OneDrive Moments and your own albums. iCloud content needs Apple’s iCloud for Windows app, which syncs your photos and videos into the Gallery. Locally stored photos stay available offline, and you can use Photos without signing in to OneDrive.
Speed is the part people are noticing. Windows Central reports that Diego Baca, Microsoft’s Vice President of Design for Windows, shared a video of the new Gallery in which hundreds of photo previews load instantly as he scrolls. Windows Central’s Sean Endicott compared that with the old app on his own PC, where thumbnails load one at a time, and likened the difference to switching from dial-up to broadband.
Microsoft’s own numbers cover launch times. The rebuilt Editor loads 25% faster. The Viewer opens 15% faster on average and up to 30% faster for HEIC images. Microsoft says it measured against Photos version 2026.11060 in its own controlled tests, and that results vary by device. A launch-day post on X also claims nearly 50% less RAM use in the Editor.
The Editor gains more than speed. Microsoft rebuilt it from the ground up with WinUI 3, though only certain parts of the new Photos app use that framework. Its tools sit in four groups: Crop, Enhance, Repair and Stylize. It adds HDR editing, HEIC and WebP support, object erasing and Relight. That matters for anyone moving iPhone shots to a PC, since the Editor preserves HDR colour and contrast and saves HEIC and WebP files in their original formats. Relight lets you place up to three light sources with adjustable colour, focus point, brightness and intensity.
The Viewer, which opens when you launch an image from File Explorer, also gets a cleaner layout. It adds smoother keyboard navigation, better HDR viewing and SVG support, and an info panel shows camera details, a location map when available, a colour histogram and visual search.
If you’re not on the Windows Insider programme, there’s nothing to download yet. We’d wait for the general rollout, and Microsoft is asking Insiders to send feedback through the Feedback Hub under Apps > Photos.
When will the new Photos app reach everyone?
Microsoft says it will expand to all Windows 11 users later this year, after the Insider rollout that began on 15 October. It hasn’t published an exact date or listed regions.
Do I need OneDrive to use the new Gallery?
No. Microsoft says you can keep using Photos for locally stored pictures and iCloud content without signing in to OneDrive. OneDrive-specific features such as Moments only apply to photos saved there.
Can I see iCloud photos in the new Photos app?
Yes, but you need Apple’s iCloud for Windows app installed. It syncs your iCloud photos and videos into the Photos Gallery alongside your local collection.
