Apple should start stealing

How Apple Photos should take "inspiration" from Google.

Author

Leander Kahney
January 29, 2025

In partnership with

“Good artists copy, great artists steal,” is a quote often attributed to Steve Jobs, but he actually “stole” the line from Pablo Picasso.

Jobs famously said that Apple was always pretty shameless about copying others — and there are lots of examples, from Xerox PARC’s GUI (which inspired the first Mac) to today’s full-screen iPhone design (which Android did first).

Still, it’s a bit pat to say that Apple “copies” others, when the company frequently improves on designs or features others implemented first.

In the tech industry, companies like Xiaomi and Samsung have far worse reputations when it comes to taking inspiration from others — see the X post below showing Samsung’s latest smartphone UI, for example. It looks just like iOS.

But Apple’s not perfect, and there are lots of great ideas floating about that Apple should take inspiration from. A good example is Google Photos, which our writer Rajesh Pandey has been using for many years.

He says in many ways, Google Photos is superior to Apple’s offering. Here’s his wish list of features Apple should copy from Google.

Also in today’s newsletter:

  • Woah! If you’re on T-Mobile and just installed iOS 18.3, you may soon be able to text from the deepest, darkest woods, thanks to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service.

  • If you’ve ever tried to download multiple episodes of a TV show for offline viewing — like before a long flight — Netflix’s newest feature will be a godsend.

  • I have an unseemly bulge in my pocket — a bulbous AirTag in my wallet. I gotta get one of these super-slim, rechargeable Find My wallet trackers instead, especially while they are on sale.

  • If you’re a fan of Andy Warhol or The Velvet Underground, this bananas iPhone case is for you. Don’t miss the soup cans case, either.

  • Michael “The Diesel” Spindler is largely forgotten as one of Apple’s CEOs, but it’s interesting to read about his rapid rise and fall.

  • Don’t miss the X post below showing the clear difference between OLED and LED screens. OLED is already used in iPad Pro and is rumored to be coming to MacBooks later this year.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

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5 Google Photos features Apple Photos should steal

Google Photos has its drawbacks, but I still prefer it for managing my image library. A comparison of Apple Photos vs. Google Photos.

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Lock in lifetime access to Babbel language learning for just $129.99

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On January 29, 1990, Apple CEO John Sculley appointed Michael "The Diesel" Spindler as the company's new chief operating officer.

MacBook Pro user swears by Magic Trackpad for a good reason [Setups]

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One more thing ...

❝

There's different things in life you can do. You can become a painter, you can become a sculptor. You can make something by yourself. But that's not what I do. I do the other thing, which is, you work at things that one person can't do, and that you need large numbers of people to do. I know people like symbols, but it's always unsettling when people write stories about me, because they tend to overlook a lot of other people.

— Steve Jobs, 1999.

Today’s poll

What do you use to manage your digital photos?

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Results from yesterday’s poll: Should Apple add buttons to force AirPods firmware updates?

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