Immich, the innovative open-source alternative to Google Photos targeting self-host enthusiasts, has announced its latest release, 1.98.0. This version introduces many new features and improvements, most notably a new logo designed by the winner of their recent logo design contest.
The contest, which concluded on March 4, 2024, showcased the vibrant community engagement surrounding the app. The winning variant is shown below after an internal voting process involving core team members and contributors. Future versions of the app will incorporate the new logo.
Yes, I know, the new logo’s similarity to Google Photos is quite noticeable, perhaps even more so than the current version. However, this might have been the desired outcome, given that the app draws significant inspiration from Google Photos as a whole. With that in mind, let’s explore the features introduced in the new version.
Immich 1.98.0 Highlights
This new version continues to refine and enhance the user experience. Among the notable changes is simplifying the external library setup process by moving library settings to the Administration page. This move reduces the complexity associated with setting up external libraries and paves the way for sharing these libraries among users, fostering a more integrated community of Immich users.
Another exciting feature is the context search with people filtering. Thanks to Immich’s AI capabilities, users can now perform searches such as “person in red dress” and filter the results to display only the desired individuals. This enhancement greatly improves the application’s specificity and utility of search functions.
Additionally, the update reintroduces the ability to search by file name and extension as free text, a feature highly requested by the community. Whether searching for photos taken with a Nikon camera in the NEF format or looking for specific file names, users will find this functionality greatly enhances the ease of navigating their media libraries.
For mobile users, Immich 1.98.0 brings the added convenience of viewing detected people in photos and videos directly from the app’s information sheet. This feature provides a more seamless and informative browsing experience on mobile devices.
Addressing user management, the update introduces an option to disable the required password change for new user creation, providing more flexibility in account management. A configurable timer for permanent user deletion has been implemented, allowing administrators to set a specific duration before a user is permanently removed from the server.
Refer to the changelog for detailed information about all the novelties and improvements that Immich 1.98.0 brings, or visit the project’s website.
