14 DAY TRIAL // Everyone is eagerly waiting for Google I/O, the company’s annual conference, to see what new products and updates the tech giant has in store for the year, and from what has been unveiled so far, they might be in for a treat.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Google is set to announce its own Instagram-like picture sharing service which, unexpectedly, will not be integrated in its much-beloved social network.
And that is great news as it might be able to garner more users if it operates autonomously, given that there are not many Google+ enthusiasts out there.
Despite the fact that Google has done its very best to promote its social website, people did not respond that well and this might be one of the reasons why what was originally known as Google+ Photos became Google Photos.
Google will have some serious competition
The launch of the photo service might be the latest of the search engine’s attempts to compete with increasingly popular rivals like Facebook or Twitter by adding new products to its already stacked portfolio.
The rumor of the web picture sharing and storage project has been circulating for more than a year and Google representatives hinted at the possibility of a future launch, although no official comment on the matter has been released.
"Over here in our darkroom, we're always developing new ways for people to snap, share and say cheese," Google stated in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg. And it seems that the time has finally come and that the company is ready to disclose the long-awaited product.
Furthermore, back in February Google made an acquisition which might be related to the upcoming service. The search engine bought Odysee, on online photo backup and sharing app, shutting down the company shortly after and removing the app from App Store and Google Play.
It remains to be seen how the new service is planning on taking the already existing ones and what new features Google has come up with to entice users. With strong competitors like Instagram of Flikr, it might be a bit tricky for Google Photos to surpass expectations.