Samsung announces Google Photos backup integration for its Gallery app

After ending Samsung Gallery's Microsoft OneDrive integration last month, Samsung has announced that it is replacing it with Google Photos sync. Although the feature began rolling out to select Galaxy phones and tablets running One UI 9.0 a few weeks ago, Samsung has made it official today.

The Samsung Gallery app now natively syncs photos and videos across supported Galaxy phones and tablets without requiring a separate cloud account, thanks to Google Photos integration. To use the feature, you simply need to sign into your Samsung and Google accounts on each of your Galaxy devices.

The rollout has started for select Galaxy devices running One UI 9.0 and will expand to additional models in a phased manner, based on regional availability and qualifying devices.

You can click here to learn how to activate this feature on your Galaxy phone and tablet.

Once your photos and videos are backed up, a new “Free up space” feature lets you remove original files from your device to reclaim internal storage. You can browse thumbnails in Samsung Gallery, with full-resolution files downloaded to your device only when you open them.

This feature uses your existing Google account storage allowance (shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos) without adding extra space.

Synced photos and videos can be accessed across your devices. For example, photos and videos captured on your Galaxy phone automatically show up as previews in the Gallery app on your Galaxy tablet.

Keep in mind that only files synchronized through Samsung Gallery after enabling the feature will appear in the app. Any photos and videos already stored in your Google cloud storage will not automatically show up in Samsung Gallery.