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Comment by endymi0n | Hacker News Reader

Honestly, I'm astounded how good Apple got with it. And I say this at the risk of coming across like a fanboy which I'm definitely not. I'm very, _very_ rarely delighted by features that get pushed into my face, but the automatic categorization of "Moments" and unobtrusive integration into the UI is something I really enjoy a lot.

It really gets the mix incredibly well between editorial ideas (i.e. "Among the trees" with lots of very different adventures in the forest), machine learning aided curation (including cutting videos to cue scenes!) and overall format: Fitting, vibrant but non-annoying music in the background, the format isn't too short or too long. Plus, at the end you can choose between more pre-curated moments.

The privacy-preserving curation that just takes some background cycles on my mobile GPU while it's charging is the cherry on the cake and I think Apple really got a bullseye there.

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I'm also pretty impressed with the 'Over the Years' and 'Your Story' vignettes that my iPhone periodically creates, which was probably developed in direct response to that realisation that people take an incredible number of pictures (I know I do, especially since kids..) and very rarely actually consume them in any meaningful way.

I just wish it wouldn't select pictures of my ex-gf so often :/ Should probably delete them, but.. nostalgia.

If pictures of people you don’t want to see get selected, you can block them from being selected.

Select the person and it’s something like “Include this person less” that you’re after.

It’s not perfect, but it’ll allow you to keep the photos and not have them pop up in memories

I'd just save the ones I didn't want to see somewhere else not on the phone. That way, the ones that are good memories can stay, and the ones that aren't can just go.

I love these features, but am absolutely flabbergasted that Apple removed the ability to turn off the music that plays when you view the memory slideshow! It's not on-device music, it's not any sort of music that I chose, it's just some Apple-chosen soundtrack that I absolutely do not want, yet the only option is to turn my volume all the way down. I would label it hostile design.

This is something I have anecdotally heard from many people, regardless of their age or experience with tech. I myself set up a widget for my parents (in their 60s) to surface photos and memories on their iPhones, and they derive more daily delight from that single feature than from any other technology.

It's impressive, but as someone who recently broke up with their partner, the vignettes of our relationship highlights were a bit of a stab of pain.

I feel your pain, I’ve been there. If you go to the person in the photos app, there’s an option to feature that person less in memories.

It was actually a beautiful vignette, though seeing it pop up on my main screen while I was on a date was a bit of a weird experience.

The search function in Apple and in the Google photos apps are good. Text searches for “Turkey” or other terms is surprisingly good.

Same. I use the Home Screen widget on my phone that surfaces a pic each day, and it's almost always good.

Even better, searching works well. I can generally find whatever person, thing or place I’m looking for in my collection.

I am not an Apple fanboy either, more like a hater. I have never owned a single Apple product, and I have a lot of bad things to say about them. But I have to admit that when it comes to user experience, they can be way ahead of the competition. They can screw things up, but when they decide to do things well, they deliver.

Since it isn’t explicitly mentioned here, I’d like to add that the music transitions match the photo transitions…to put it another way, the photos transition in sync with the transitions or beats in the music.

Another good thing to do with these photos is to add a nice large widget on the Home Screen to look back everyday.

I would have far preferred being able to pick a default folder or tag to put photos in so they're organized when I take them without the need for any ML. That's what the camera script I wrote for my Pinephone does. Important photos get human readable names when after the first time I use them.

It turns out if you actually use your computer intelligently it's very pleasant to use.

Most people are not organizers.

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