Google Photos get live video previews on Android timelines

After getting the dark theme update, search engine giant Google Photos is now adding live video previews to the main timeline of Google Photos for Android users.

Videos in Google Photos are denoted by a white play icon in the top-right corner of thumbnails that includes clip length. Google Photos 4.20, which rolled out last week, adds live previews as you scroll through your timeline in the "Photos" feed, 9To5Mac reported on Monday.

As part of the previews, the app would run through the entire recording -- without the audio -- with playback continuing until the user scrolls pass it.

In cases of multiple side-by-side clips, Google Photos would play the video previews in reverse chronological order.

These live thumbnails play in both the square "Month view" and larger "Comfortable view," with the latter providing a better watching experience, the report said.

The preview feature, though not limited to just local content, is only being made available on the main feed and not in album or search screens.

Google Photos' video preview is rolling out with version 4.20, but the feature is yet to launch for iOS users.

Google Photos on the web allows users to hover over a video to get a preview, but it does not autoplay like on Android, the report noted.