- Samsung Gallery now natively syncs to Google Photos; OneDrive backup ends Sept 30, 2026—migrate your photos.
- Google’s free 15GB is shared across apps—heavy photo/video users will likely need a Google One plan.
- Gallery sync limits Google Photos features: edits, albums, Memories, shared libraries, and duplicate handling may differ
Samsung Galaxy users are in for a major ecosystem overhaul – Samsung has now launched native Google Photos integration straight into the Samsung Gallery app. The timing is no accident; Microsoft’s long-term partnership, which let the Samsung Gallery app to back up photos directly to OneDrive, will be officially ending on September 30, 2026. For years, Galaxy users have relied on that built-in connection with Microsoft to keep their photo collections safe. Once that link closes at the end of the month, Samsung will shift its native cloud services entirely to Google.
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Find out what you need to do to save your photos before it’s too late.
What this means for your photos
If you use OneDrive, you have until September 30 to sort out your storage migration, as existing sync links will be discontinued. In order to transfer your current photos and videos from OneDrive to Google Photos, you should download them from OneDrive to your device or computer and then upload them into Google Photos via the app or the web interface. Make sure all files transfer successfully before the deadline. Although the transition to the new Google setup appears seamless in theory, ordinary users should keep a number of important points in mind before doing it.
What are the key differences?
Second, the integration behaves a bit differently than a unified app experience. To help you quickly understand what is changing, here are the main differences between Samsung Gallery and Google Photos integration:
Synced items are backed up into your Google account, but they may not surface identically inside Google Photos’ advanced features (Memories, live albums, partner sharing, broad search). For full access to Google Photos features, manage or confirm backups using the Google Photos app.
Edits or organization changes made within Samsung Gallery (such as albums or tagging) may not always be reflected in Google Photos. For full feature access, you should use the Google Photos app.
Gallery and Google Photos handle duplicate detection and storage reporting differently, so you might notice variations in available free space or how duplicates appear.
Samsung Gallery integration does not support collaborative albums, shared libraries, or partner sharing like Google Photos does. Understanding these feature differences can help you avoid surprises as you transition to the new Google-centric setup.
How to make the switch
If your device has the necessary system updates and app patches, setup takes just a few seconds. Open the Samsung Gallery app, tap the menu button in the bottom corner, head into Settings, and select Sync photos and videos to link your personal Google account. If you currently rely heavily on OneDrive, double-check your backups before the September 30 cutoff to avoid leaving files behind. Any photos and videos not moved from OneDrive to Google Photos before the deadline may become inaccessible or be deleted, so complete your migration in advance to prevent accidental data loss.