Top 5 Reasons to Choose Google Photos Over iCloud for iPhone Users

I'm writing this on my Macbook, as I have my iPhone on the table laying next to me.

I also happen to have an IPad Pro, and an Apple Watch.

Granted, I stopped using the Apple Watch over 2 years ago.

I say this not to brag in any way, but rather just to speak to the point behind the fact that even though I'm deep into the Apple eco-system, I hate iCloud Photos. 

This week's lesson is just something I've found myself do for friends/family more times than I can count.

So, if you are like them and find yourself running out of storage on your iPhone but don’t want to lose your photos, let me just tell you what I did for them - and hopefully it can help you too.

Let me preface by saying this advice is for iPhone users.

Yep, I got sucked into the ecosystem over 15+ years ago.

Everything just worked so well together - it was tough to leave.

Don't get me wrong, I was tempted.

I even almost bought a Google Pixel phone.

The thing that always kept me loyal was that I had all my apps, my iCloud back up, Time-Machine back up, AirDrop, iMessage, and more Apple specific features that it made the idea of switching too painful.

There was however, one thing I always found SUPER annoying, and that's the way Apple handles backing up photos.

If you have an iPhone, you know that pictures and videos take up a lot of space, and so your first reflex might be to just enable iCloud photos and pay extra so you have more storage.

That's what I did years ago, until I realized something that my family and friends have realized too…

iCloud photos syncs your photos across all your devices, so when you delete a photo off your iPad, it will delete it off your iPhone too.

Don’t believe me?

Go try deleting a photo from your iPhone and then go look at any of your other Apple devices and see if it’s there.

Spoiler Alert - it’s not!

So what did I do?

I turned off iCloud Photos from syncing but left everything else to be backed up with iCloud.

I then downloaded Google Photos, and simply upgraded the account to have unlimited photo storage.

I found that was the perfect mix:

• Keep iCloud for backing up everything (except photos/videos)

• Download Google Photos specifically for photos/videos backup

So, without further ado, here are the top 5 reasons I prefer Google Photos, despite having an iPhone, iPad, and MacBook.

1. Independent Deletion Control

Google Photos does not enforce a uniform deletion across all devices.

If you delete a photo from Google Photos on your iPhone, it doesn't automatically delete it from other devices or from the cloud storage itself.

This feature is incredibly beneficial for managing what gets deleted and where, providing flexibility that iCloud Photos, with its all-or-nothing deletion sync, does not offer.

2. Efficient Storage Management

Google Photos allows you to free up space on your iPhone without losing your photos elsewhere.

Once your photos are backed up in Google Photos, you can use the 'Free up space' option to remove the local copies from your iPhone, while still keeping them securely stored in the cloud.

This is a practical feature for iPhone users who frequently face storage limitations.

3. Cross-Platform Compatibility

Unlike iCloud Photos which works optimally within the Apple ecosystem, Google Photos offers seamless integration across different platforms, including Android and Windows.

This means you can access and manage your photos on a variety of devices, not just Apple products, making it a versatile choice for users who use devices across different operating systems.

4. Superior Photo Organization and Sharing Features

Google Photos provides powerful tools for photo organization, including automatic tagging and categorization based on places, faces, and things.

This makes searching for specific photos incredibly intuitive.

Additionally, Google Photos has robust photo sharing capabilities that allow you to easily share albums with others, control exactly who sees what, and even collaborate on shared albums more dynamically than iCloud Photos.

5. Generous Storage Options

Google Photos offers 15 GB of free storage across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos, with affordable options to expand this storage through Google One plans.

In contrast, iCloud provides only 5 GB of free storage, which is quickly consumed by not just photos but also device backups, documents, and email within the Apple ecosystem.

So, next time you find yourself running out of space, and thinking about photos or videos you should delete to make room on your phone, remember my rule:

• Use iCloud for backing up everything (except Photos, turn off “Photos” sync)

• Download Google Photos and periodically use the “Free up Space” feature that will clear them from your phone but not the cloud

Till next time,

Angelo