Google is apparently working on a subscription service that will print a selection of your photos monthly, then deliver them to you in neat 4×6 format. The trick is that Google will select which things to print from your Photos library. Depending on your lifestyle, itll either sound like a charming thing to get or a massive waste of money.
A tipster, speaking to 9to5Google, said the big G is trialing the subscription service with select users in the US. Weve contacted Google to find out more about it. You can request that Googles algorithm pick you out pics of people, landscapes, or a little bit of everything. Then, once a month, Google will send a packet containing 10 4×6 photos (on white cardstock with a 1/8 border) to your house all for $8. From a purely aesthetic perspective, its a lovely notion, as physical photos offer a nice bit of permanence for your pretty pictures. Google also notes that they make great gifts.
My first thought was horror that Googles algorithm would arbitrarily select photos for me from the many weird ones Ive taken. On any given month, I can have some utterly bizarre images crop up in my photo reel due to the nature of my job last month alone, I had the dubious pleasure of getting screenshots of AI-generated foot pics on behalf of a colleague. Thats not exactly something I need a print of.
However, that doesnt seem to be an issue, based on the screenshots from 9to5Google, in which Google assures users to they can edit the photos before theyre printed. It kind of deflates the convenient notion that youll be able to just passively receive beautiful photos every month, but I guess thats the compromise you have to decide if you can live with.
Still, now I have the opposite concern: some months I just dont do anything of note. Or at least, what I accomplish might not be something worth taking a picture of. My life is not a glamorous one, and that suits me fine but it seems like a waste of $8 to get prints of the random things I take pictures of on a quiet month, which Ill probably look at once and eventually throw away.
Suffice to say, if your life is more photo-ready than mine, then this might be something worth looking into. If not, then this sounds like something you can give a hard pass to when it comes out. If youre still hungering for a few prints but dont want to shell out for a subscription, you can get prints from Walmart or CVS via Googles Photo print service for $0.25 a print.
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