Microsoft Photos 2026.11020

Whether you need to clean up vacation photos, organize thousands of images, or quickly edit pictures for social media, Microsoft Photos handles it all without installing a single third-party app.

If you want even more creative control over your videos, Microsoft also offers Clipchamp as its dedicated video editor built into Windows 11, picking up right where Photos leaves off for timeline-based editing and social media content creation.

AI Editing Tools That Replace Expensive Software

The standout feature in Microsoft Photos 2026 is Generative Erase. This AI tool lets you paint over unwanted objects, photobombers, or visual clutter in your images, and the app seamlessly fills in the background with realistic detail. The results rival what you would expect from paid editors, yet it runs directly inside the free Photos app on Windows 11 23H2 and later.

Background Blur is another AI-powered feature worth exploring. It automatically detects the subject of your photo and softens everything else, creating a professional depth-of-field effect without needing a camera with a large aperture.

Combined with one-click Auto Enhance for instant brightness, contrast, and color correction, these tools give casual users professional-quality results in seconds.

For users who need more advanced editing beyond what Photos offers, GIMP provides a full Photoshop-class editor with layers, masks, and plugins - completely free and open source.

Format Support and the Extensions You Actually Need

Microsoft Photos handles standard formats like JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, and TIFF out of the box. However, modern image formats require additional Windows extensions to work properly, and this is where most users hit frustrating compatibility walls.

If you transfer photos from an iPhone or iPad, your images arrive in HEIC format. Windows cannot open these natively. You need two components working together: the HEIF Image Extensions to handle the container format, and the HEVC Video Extension (or the free HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer) to decode the actual image data. Once both are installed, your iPhone photos display perfectly in Microsoft Photos and File Explorer thumbnails.

Building a complete format toolkit for Windows goes beyond HEIC. The Raw Image Extension adds native support for camera RAW files from Canon, Nikon, Sony, and other manufacturers - essential if you shoot in RAW and want thumbnails and previews directly in File Explorer.

The WebP Image Extensions unlocks Google's efficient web format, the JPEG XL Image Extension handles Apple's newest format from iPhone 16, and the AV1 Video Extension provides AVIF image support. Install all of these and Microsoft Photos becomes a truly universal viewer.

Photo Organization and Cloud Sync

The built-in organization tools use intelligent tagging to sort your library by date, location, and recognized faces. The search functionality understands natural language, so typing "beach sunset" or "birthday party" actually returns relevant results from your collection without manually tagging anything.

OneDrive integration keeps your entire photo library synced across devices automatically.

Every edit you make in Microsoft Photos reflects on your phone, tablet, and other PCs connected to the same Microsoft account. iCloud integration is also available for users with Apple devices - install iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store to browse and manage your iPhone photos alongside your Windows library.

For photographers who need deeper metadata control over their collections, ExifTool with ExifToolGUI provides comprehensive EXIF, IPTC, and XMP data viewing and editing that goes far beyond what Microsoft Photos exposes.

When Microsoft Photos Is Not Enough

Microsoft Photos excels at everyday photo management and quick edits, but certain workflows demand specialized tools.

If you shoot in RAW and need non-destructive editing with advanced color grading, darktable and RapidRAW deliver Lightroom-class processing without subscription fees.

For pure image viewing with maximum format support, several lightweight alternatives outperform Microsoft Photos in speed and versatility. IrfanView remains the most popular choice with batch processing and plugin support for virtually every format. XnView supports over 700 formats with professional-grade batch conversion built in.

FastStone Image Viewer offers an innovative full-screen mode with hidden toolbars and over 150 slideshow transitions.

For a modern, minimal viewer, ImageGlass launches instantly with native HEIC, AVIF, and WebP support, while PicView provides a distraction-free experience with full customization options.

Need to batch convert or resize images? XnConvert handles 500+ formats with 80+ editing operations in a single pass, Converseen processes HEIC, RAW, and 100+ other formats with batch renaming, and Light Image Resizer simplifies bulk resizing for web or email sharing.

For screen capture needs that go beyond simple screenshots, ShareX offers powerful capture, annotation, and sharing tools, while Screenpresso adds GPU-accelerated capture with a built-in image editor.

System Requirements and Installation

Microsoft Photos comes pre-installed on Windows 10 and Windows 11. If you have removed it or need the latest version, download it from the link above. The app requires approximately 1.1 GB of storage and updates automatically through Windows Update or the Microsoft Store.

AI features like Generative Erase and Background Blur work best on Windows 11 23H2 or later. Some advanced AI features run faster on Copilot+ PCs with dedicated neural processing units, but cloud-based processing ensures they function on older hardware as well.

DOWNLOAD MICROSOFT PHOTOS Compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 11. Free - no registration required.