Your 60 Second Year In Review
APPLE PHOTOS GIVES YOU AN EASY CURATED LOOK BACK IN THE LIBRARY MONTHS VIEW
For me, the first few days of a new year are transitional. Looking forward with curiosity, but still sneaking a backward glance now and then.
Every place you look there’s a ‘best of’ image gallery about the months behind us, and it’s tempting to do our own deep dive into last year’s photo library. You know, kind of reminisce and put the year to bed.
But that distracts from your commitment to a new agenda. New Year’s is all about new beginnings and assessing priorities. Looking backward in detail can stall the forward movement.
Fortunately, the Apple Photos Library offers a nifty review of key moments in the Months view. In less than a minute you can sample the “best” of your prior year - according to Apple’s AI and machine learning - and get the Cliff’s Notes version of what you did, where you went, and who you saw.
For me, it’s the perfect way to satisfy my need for some reflection and closure without impacting my forward movement. A full curation of 2025 can wait until the tedium of grey winter days that will come in, oh, late February or March.
To review your own year, select the Library View in Apple Photos, then choose Years and tap 2025. On your iPhone you may have to scroll back to see Years/Months appear at the bottom.
Once you choose the year, Photos will display the Months beginning with January. You can scroll through all the months of the year, pause for any pictures that you choose, and still enjoy your journey in less than a minute.
Each month offers up a feature photo and 5 more thumbnail sized images. Just tap on any image that catches your eye and you’ll get to the ‘All Photos’ view where you can see the month’s photos and videos one by one. Getting back to the Months view is another tap away at the bottom - iPhone & iPad - or the top - Mac.
Like most summary views in Apple Photos, the Months view isn’t cluttered up by screenshots and utility photos. Just the best stuff so you can return to your favorite moments pretty quickly. Much easier than scrolling endlessly through the whole Library.
So know that you can always sample last year quickly and easily without getting too distracted from your New Year’s look forward.
Happy New Year from 5 Minute Photos and Bluewater Imaging.
