In an exciting development, Google and Apple have joined forces to introduce a new tool designed to simplify media transfers between devices. This innovative data portability tool, set to be powered by the open-source Data Transfer Project (DTP) technology stack, promises to make moving data from Google Photos to iCloud Photos a breeze. The announcement was made on Wednesday by Google, highlighting a significant enhancement in their data transfer capabilities.
This partnership marks a significant step forward, as Google and Apple integrate iCloud Photos support into Google’s data portability initiative, Google Takeout. This integration allows users to seamlessly transfer their media to iCloud Photos without the need to download and re-upload the data, streamlining the entire process.
According to the Data Transfer Initiative, a forum dedicated to developing open-source tools for easy data transfer across devices, this new feature will be available to users next week. Both Apple and Google’s support forums now provide detailed instructions on transferring media from Google Photos to iCloud Photos. Users will find iCloud Photos as a new destination option in Google Takeout, where they can select the data they wish to transfer and manage permissions for media visibility.
Once the transfer is initiated, the photos and videos will appear in a new “Import from Google” album within the Photos app. Additionally, these media files will be timestamped with the transfer date. If any photos or videos are not transferred, they will be placed in a folder within Drive with the same name. Upon completion of the data transfer, Apple will send a confirmation email to users. If iCloud Photos is disabled during the process, only the media already transferred will be accessible on the Apple device.
The tool currently supports the transfer of photo and video files, including formats like JPEG, HEIC, PNG, MP4, and MOV. However, it does not support other media types such as Motion Photos, Live Photos, or Memories. Media files that cannot be transferred to iCloud Photos will be shifted to iCloud Drive.
This initiative is part of a broader effort by Apple, Google, and Meta to enhance data portability, enabling users to move their data effortlessly across different platforms and devices.
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