Windows 11 Splits Photos Into Two Apps: Three Entry Points to Your Pictures

⚡ The gist in 5 seconds - Microsoft has split the Photos app in Windows 11 into two — Photo Viewer and the new Photos. - The update is rolling out to Windows Insider program participants. - In total, there are now three entry points to photos: Photo Viewer, the new Photos, and the gallery that already exists in File Explorer. ### 🔍 What was found In Windows 11, the Photos app is no longer a single access point to your pictures: Microsoft has split it into two — Photo Viewer and the new Photos. The update is already rolling out to Windows Insider program participants, meaning this concerns a test build, not the stable channel. The mechanics are simple and come down to the number of entry points. There are now three ways to view photos in the system: via Photo Viewer, via the new Photos, and via the gallery that already exists in File Explorer. Thus, the old gallery in the file manager is not being removed, but coexists alongside two separate apps for viewing images. ### 💡 Why it matters Windows 11 is gradually accumulating layers for working with media: the gallery in File Explorer appeared earlier, and now two more apps have been added to it in place of one. For users, this is a matter of habit and file associations — which of the apps opens on a double-click and which remains "just a viewer." For now, the change is only available to Insiders; no timeline for its arrival in the stable channel was given in the source.