Google and Apple finally seem to be cooperating to release a tool that allows users of their respective cloud storage services to transfer their photo collections. However, the feature comes with a catch — the differences in the storage offered in both services’ free tiers.
The tool was created by the Data Transfer Initiative (DTI), an organisation founded in 2023 that ensures Apple, Meta, and Google work together to enable data portability between their respective devices. It’s similar to the Data Transfer Project, which added Microsoft and Twitter to ensure the same.
To be clear, Apple had previously made it possible for users to export photos from iCloud to Google Photos. As of July 10, Google added the functionality for the data transfer to run and vice versa. Apple and Google have posted guides on their respective help centres to help users navigate the process.
Interestingly, DTI’s announcement of the feature hints at more similar features to come. The announcement clearly states that DTI is ” nowhere near the end of the data portability journey” and continues to “explore new services and partners.”
Google offers 15GB of free cloud storage, while Apple only offers 5GB. This difference in free storage capacities means the feature’s capabilities are limited. And while buying iCloud for a mere dollar a month for another 50GB (in the US and UK) might not be too expensive, it’s still more than what it would cost to store six to 15 GB of data with Google. Regardless, since the feature technically falls within the scope of DTI’s goals, they seem happy with the result.
In the News: Apple finally opens NFC access to third-party wallet apps
