Android smartphones generally offer two different photo gallery apps – they’ll have Google Photos and their own app as part of the brand’s software suite (similar to how many Android phones might have two apps for mail and a browser). But it would be a lot simpler for your image management if you could combine the apps into one – and that could soon be the case for several brands of Android phones.
As first reported by Android Police, with the release of OxygenOS 14 and ColorOS 14 – both based on Android 14 – on OnePlus, Oppo and Realme phones, and Gallery app version 3.62.10-global on Xiaomi, all devices now offer Google Photos integration in own photo gallery app.
To turn it on, just open the gallery app, go to the app’s settings menu, look for the “Backup to Google Photos” option, and tap the backup switch. This will take you to the main Google Photos app, which will double-check if you want to give the gallery app access to Google Photos; if you confirm and complete the process, you’ll not only be able to back up your snaps and videos to Google Photos via the Gallery app, but you’ll also be able to see your entire Google Photos library in the app.
The only thing that doesn’t sync are the albums you create—your Gallery app albums won’t appear in Google Photos, and your Google Photos albums won’t appear in the Gallery app.
To turn off Google Photos integration on your OnePlus, Oppo, Realme or Xiaomi phone, you just need to open Google Photos, go to your settings, open the ‘Apps & devices’ menu, and then select access to Google Photos. Here you can change which third-party apps have access to your library.
Where is Samsung’s support?
Unfortunately, Samsung users are missing out on Google Photos integration, as are owners of devices that don’t support Android 14 – although interestingly, Google Photos offers support for gallery apps running on Android 11 or later, so there’s a chance we’ll see it come to older devices .
As for Samsung, while it has partnered with Google on devices like the upcoming Samsung XR headset, bringing Google’s Wear OS to its Galaxy Watches and improved nearby sharing, it’s not known when or even if it will add Google Photos support to its gallery app. While the two brands may work together in many areas, they’re still independent, and some weird app interactions — like the lack of Google Photos integration — can take longer than most would expect.
So we’ll have to wait and see if Google Photos integration comes to Samsung in the future, but we’d be surprised if it doesn’t at some point, considering how useful this solution is for people who hate using two different photo library apps .