Google has added a powerful new integration feature to Google Photos, but only select smartphones … [+]
Google is introducing a powerful new way to access and share content in Google Photos, but iPhone users and most major Android brands will be missing out.
As described in recent Google Photos supporting document, Google has started rolling out a new feature called “default gallery access”. This feature gives select smartphones two-way access to Google Photos libraries directly from their default gallery apps.
Unfortunately, the feature is currently only available on devices from OnePlus, Oppo, Realme and Xiaomi, leaving iPhone and Samsung Galaxy users out of the picture for now.
With default gallery access enabled, users can easily access their Google Photos libraries without having to go to the Google Photos app. This means they can browse, download, edit, and share content stored in Google Photos without leaving the system-provided gallery app—though Google Photos must be installed for the feature to work. This can be especially useful when your default gallery app offers features not supported by Google Photos.
Users can now enable two-way sync between Google Photos and a smartphone default … [+]
How does it work
Enabling default gallery access on a Xiaomi 14 smartphone, for example, causes the gallery app to start syncing images with Google Photos in the background. For larger photo libraries, this process may take some time, but you can continue to use the gallery while the process continues.
Enabling Google Photos backup starts the sync process.
Once connected, all photos and videos stored in Google Photos can now be edited directly in the Gallery app without having to go to the Google Photos app to download them first. Selecting album view in the gallery app reveals separate albums for favorites, videos, screenshots, and images taken locally with the device’s camera.
Unfortunately, the gallery app won’t show existing albums created in your Google Photos library. Everything that does not belong to one of the above categories is simply collected in an album called “All photos”.
After upgrading the Mi Gallery app, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra can choose either Microsoft … [+]
Testing default gallery access on an older Mi 11 Ultra smartphone revealed a slightly different setup process. The user has the option to switch backup providers between Microsoft OneDrive and Google Photos at will. Google says default gallery access will work on devices with at least Android 11.
Important caveats
In addition to the lack of album support in Google Photos, the default gallery access suffers from a few other major shortcomings.
One important caveat is that your device must remain configured to back up your photos to Google Photos for Google Photos sync to work. If your Google Account storage space is low, you may want to keep access to your library without automatically filling it with new photos. Unfortunately, turning off Google Photo backup will completely disable default gallery access and disconnect all synced images.
While this may prove frustrating for some users, it makes sense in terms of ensuring that any local edits you make are reflected in your Google Photos library.
In addition, there are cases where the synchronization process is not completely seamless. Google’s documentation notes that edits made on a different device or through the Google Photos website may not sync properly with connected gallery apps. There are also cases where album names and duplicate images may not sync properly.
For these reasons, I would recommend staying with the Google Photos app where possible until the above issues are resolved.
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