Switching phones is relatively easy if you’re switching from one with the same operating system. However, the process of moving from Android to iOS, or vice versa, is much more complicated. Luckily, things are changing and it will soon be just as easy to transfer files from Google Photos to iCloud as it is the other way around.
Migrating from an Android smartphone to an iPhone is a headache. We can’t transfer our WhatsApp conversations, although it is possible to do so from iOS to Android. The same goes for Google Photos and iCloud.
Apple launched a feature that allowed users to move files from iCloud to Google Photos in 2021. However, this compatibility had not been implemented in reverse. Therefore, the only way to move photos and videos from the Alphabet service to iOS was to download everything and then copy and paste it to the Apple brand’s cloud storage platform.
Soon, this difficulty will be a thing of the past. Google and Apple have collaborated to make this happen with the Data Transfer Project, an open source initiative. This project focuses on data portability between different online platforms and they have shared that next week they will launch a feature to make it easier than ever to share data between the two storage apps.
From Android to iOS in one step
The Data Transfer Initiative website, an organization founded by Apple, Google and Meta, talks about the importance of the new feature in Google Photos. The function will allow a “direct transfer of data” that will allow users to continue carrying their photographed or recorded memories with them even if they change their mobile phone.
The tool, which will be available next week on Google Photos, complements the one that was already available on iCloud to transfer multimedia files to the Android app. In this way, both companies are committed to fulfilling the purpose of the Data Transfer Initiative, which is to ensure that there is reciprocity.
As Apple has clarified in its press release, the service will be available in more than 240 countries and regions around the world. Although they do not specify which territories will be the lucky ones, Spain will possibly be among them.
How to transfer files from Google Photos to iCloud
Google has explained how the process of transferring from one platform to another will work. All users will have to do is go to Google Takeout from their web browser and log in with their Gmail account linked to Google Photos.
Once there, you’ll need to follow the instructions on the page to start an export from the cloud storage app. There’s a point halfway through the process where Google will let you choose ‘Apple – iCloud Photos’ as the destination to transfer your media files to.
At this point, Internet users will have to log in with their Apple ID. Finally, they will just have to click on Allow to give Google permission to add the images and videos from its app to iCloud and wait.
Points to note about file transfer
Apple has stressed that the new feature will not be enabled for child accounts or managed Apple ID profiles. It will also not work for users who have enabled Advanced Data Protection.
The company also clarifies that importing image and video data from Google Photos to iCloud will not delete them from the Alphabet app. That is, if you later decide to return to Android, you should not have to transfer the media files again.
However, if we have to highlight one advantage above all others, it would be the fact that you don’t have to download anything to move photos from one application to another. However, the companies involved remind us that the transfer process can take several hours or even days, depending on the size of the files to be transferred.
