Is Google Photos crashing on your iPhone? This update is the answer

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Google's Photos app refused to work with iOS 16.3.1, but a new update has fixed everything.

iPhones with cannon camera lenses
(Image credit: Future)

Google Photos users who updated to the newly released iOS 16.3.1 probably found that they couldn't open the app anymore. But panic, not because there's a fix already available.

As soon as iOS 16.3.1 was released, people started to report on social media that the Google Photos app could no longer be used. Specifically, the app crashed as soon as people tried to open it, which is less than ideal.

Now, another new update has fixed things. But this one didn't come from Apple.

Update all the things

An updated version of Google Photos is now available for download in the App Store, and we're reliably informed that this release works fine on iOS 16.3.1. We suggest you download and install it as soon as possible if you're a Google Photos user.

If you have automatic updates enabled, there is a good chance that you already have the updated Google Photos app installed. If you don't, the update will be ready and waiting for you in the App Store.

"This release includes bug fixes and performance improvements," the Google Photos release notes say without getting into too many specifics. "We fixed user-reported issues and added new features to provide an enhanced editing experience."

The update is made all the more important when you consider what the iOS 16.3.1 release brought to iPhone customers. Because it includes fixes for the troublesome Crash Detection system as well as vital security updates, not installing iOS 16.3.1 isn't really a viable option at this point. Thankfully people now don't have to choose between having their iPhone updated or being able to use the Google Photos app.

Kudos to Google for getting the updated app into the App Store so quickly.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.