Samsung and Microsoft permanently break up: the Galaxy Gallery is now synchronized with Google Photos
Microsoft and Samsung, until recently, were great collaborators. For example, Galaxy devices used to be the first to receive new features in Windows Mobile Link. It didn’t matter if this app allowed you to see the device screen on the PC, respond to notifications or view the mobile gallery: the Galaxy were almost always the first to support the function. In addition, many Microsoft apps came pre-installed on the Korean company’s mobile phonesregardless of the range. But all this is over.
One of the main features of Samsung phones is that the phone’s native gallery was synchronized with OneDrive. The truth is that it was a very useful feature, especially since the photos could be easily synchronized with any device using the cloud service client or simply have them available on the web. However, as published @UniverseIce in X, this integration is already a thing of the past.
Now, gallery photos can be synchronized with a Google account, as is the case on devices from other brands, such as Xiaomi. When you sign in with your Google account, all content is synced to Google Photos. Thus, if you prefer to use the native app instead of Google’s to manage your memories, you can do so without losing synchronization along the way.
Samsung account is also required
In addition to logging in with Google, the gallery app itself warns that it is necessary to have linked the device to a Samsung account. Additionally, syncing can be stopped at any time from the app settings.
To have this feature, you will need to update all the apps on your device, especially the gallery and an app called Galaxy Cloud Sync. You will find the latter in the Samsung app store, the Galaxy Store. Once you have the latest versions, you will be able to activate it on your device. Keep in mind that the content you have in OneDrive will still be there, but you can always migrate it to Google Photos.
By the way, Google makes it clear that only personal accounts can be used for this functionality. Therefore, logging in with a Workspace account does not work.
How exactly does this synchronization work?
Synchronization aims to be quite simple, although with some quirks that you should take into account. To begin with, what will be sent to Google Photos are the videos and photos found on the device in selected folders by the user. Metadata, such as date or location, is also preserved.
Likewise, if edits are made, either in Google Photos or in the Samsung gallery, they will be synchronized, although some duplicates may be seen. That, without a doubt, can be quite chaotic. Google clarifies on its support page that content synced from a Samsung will not be used for certain functions of its Photos app. For example, it will not be used in Look for or in the Memories and highlights.
And what happens if synchronization between both platforms is disabled? Well, simply that the images taken from that moment on will no longer be sent to Google servers. Now, all previously backed up content remains in Google Photos. Keep in mind that if the photos and videos were no longer on the device, they will no longer be visible in the Samsung gallery.
The best thing is that, if you plan to activate this function once you receive it, read the Google support document carefully, because it clarifies all doubts. You have the link a little above.
