Apple vs Google Photos

Which app is best for you? 

In the last few weeks, I have had quite a few people ask me whether Apple or Google Photos is better for organizing their digital pictures. If you are wondering the same, here is a rundown and some things to think about as you decide which direction to go! 

APPLE PHOTOS 

• If you have an iPhone, Apple Photos comes standard on your phone and will automatically backup every picture and video you take to the cloud.
• The Apple Photos account you see on your phone is a mirror image of what you will see on your iPad or Macbook as long as you're logged into the exact same account on all devices.
• Apple gives you 5 GB of free storage, which most of us have already used after a decade or two of taking digital pictures. You are probably already paying an extra $1.99 for more storage, which should get you through the next few years
• If your friends and family have iPhones, sharing individual pictures or entire albums in Apple Photos is incredibly easy. 
• There are great features in this app that help you find, organize, edit and share your pictures easily

GOOGLE PHOTOS 

• If you have an Android, Google Photos comes standard on your phone. You will have to do some work to set it up but once you do, your pictures and videos will automatically back up to the cloud for you. 
• You can log into your Google Photos account on ANY device and your pictures will be a mirror image of what you see on your phone. 
• Google gives you 15 GB of free storage however, this includes all of your Google apps (Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos). Once you hit this limit you can pay an extra $2.99 a month for 100 GB of storage, which should get you through the next few years!
• Google Photos directly syncs with many third-party photo companies. For example, if you want to make a photo book or get printed copies of your pictures, you can log into Mixbook or Walgreens and upload your pictures right from Google Photos, which is incredibly convenient and easily! 
• There are great features in this app that help you find, organize, edit and share your pictures easily. 

I have been teaching classes on how to use Apple and Google Photos for the last few years and here are some things I have learned along the way:

• Pick the app that is the most natural for you! If you go along with what your family or friends say, you will go down a black hole and eventually end up back where you started.
• If you have an iPhone, Apple Photos is already built in and often the best way to go. However, if you love Google Photos you can still use this app on your iPhone. 
• If you have an Android, Google Photos is already built in and often the best way to go. You can't access Apple Photos on this device. 
• Pick one app or the other... juggling both can be confusing and take up more time than you have or is needed. 
• There are pros and cons to both apps but if you plan on taking digital pictures in the future, NOW is the time to learn your way around whichever app you choose.
• Start small by coming up with systems to organize your most recent pictures. Don't even think about old pictures or you'll get overwhelmed and probably won't do any organizing at all!  
• At this point, we have been taking digital pictures for a couple of decades which means we are all running out of free storage. It is well worth paying a couple of bucks a month to get more storage in Apple or Google Photos because you're going to need it sooner than later anyway! 

I hope you are able to finally start making progress with organizing your digital pictures this year, starting with picking just one app as your go to!

All the best, 
Melissa