Transfer Google Photos to iCloud

Did you just get your brand-new iPhone? Congratulations! Setting up a new iPhone can be an overwhelming task for anyone. If you’ve hundreds of photos in your Google Photos app, you will want to transfer them to the new iCloud account.

 

iCloud is Apple’s cloud service that provides a central place to store, sync, and share your files. Moreover, you can also store notes, contacts, ringtones, and bookmarks, and generate secure encrypted backups. Transferring your photos to iCloud will provide a seamless experience throughout the Apple ecosystem products and make your photos accessible no matter from where and how you try to access them. In this tutorial, we will show you how easy it is to transfer your Google Photos to the iCloud account.

Method 1: Manually Move Your Photos

This process involves downloading your photos from Google Photos and uploading them onto iCloud. It’s simple.

Step 1: Download Your Photos

1. Open the Google Photos website.

1. Sign in to your account.

1. Your Google Photos are grouped by their activity time history. For example, photos taken on a specific day are grouped, whereas those taken on another day are grouped separately.

1. Hover over your mouse to the top left corner of each photo group to bulk select all the containing photos.

1. Repeat Step # 3 to bulk-select all photos for the days you want to download.

1. Press the Shift and D keys together to start downloading your selected photos. Alternatively, you can also click on the three lines Menu icon on the top right corner and select the Download option.

1. Google Photos will create an archive and start downloading it.

Step 2: Extract Your Photo Archive 

1. Once your archive is downloaded, extract it. You can use any freeware tool such as 7-Zip File Manager.

Step 3: Upload Your Photos

1. Open the iCloud website.

1. Sign in to your account.

1. Click on the Photos icon.

1. Click on the Upload icon.

1. Select the photos you have previously extracted.

1. Click on Open.

Ideal For: Transferring fewer photos

  

Benefits:

• • It is a beginner-friendly method with no technical complexities.

• You will be able to choose which photos to transfer and which ones not to transfer.

Drawbacks:

• • You may run across several issues while downloading and uploading your photos. If your Internet connection is slow or unstable, it can cause delays or frequent interruptions.

• This method requires a lot of manual effort like selecting the photos and downloading & re-uploading them.

Method 2: Using Airdrop Feature (Bluetooth)

It’s also possible to directly share your photos from the Google Photos app’s sharing feature on your smartphone. However, you will need to manually delete the photos from your Google Photos account after transferring them to iCloud.

Here’s how:

1. Download the Google Photos app on your Android smartphone.

1. Sign in to the Google Photos service.

1. Tap and long press on a photo.

1. Select all other photos you want to transfer.

1. Tap on the Share icon.

1. Select the Save to Device option.

1. Start the Bluetooth connection on both your Android device and iPhone.

1.  Airdrop the photos to your phone’s iCloud app.

1. After successfully sharing your photos, delete them from Google Photos.

1. Unpair both devices.

Ideal For: Transferring fewer photos

Benefits:

• • • Uses the Airdrop functionality of your iPhone to import your photos.
  • You don’t need to extract the archive file and re-upload the photos yourself.

Drawbacks:

• • Requires manual efforts such as selecting the photos you want to transfer.

• If you have a lot of photos, a Bluetooth connection may not be an ideal way to transfer your photos. The Bluetooth transfer process is often slower. The actual performance may rely on the Bluetooth version which determines the maximum supported bandwidth speed. Lower bandwidth translates into slower speed, and vice versa. Furthermore, physical interferences between the devices and the surrounding environment can also impact the transfer speed.

Method 3: Export Photos Using Google Takeout (Recommended)

Another method is to use Google Takeout. It is a free service by Google that lets you create an archive containing Google data across multiple Google services.

Step 1: Export Photos Using Google Takeout

1. Open the Google Takeout page and sign in to your Google Photos account.

1. Scroll down and locate Google Photos in the list of all Google services.

1. Check the checkbox next to Google Photos.

1. To ensure everything is exported, make sure that the “All photo albums included” option is selected.

1. Click on Next Step.

1. On the subsequent page, select your preferred file type and size. For example, set .zip as the preferred file type and 2 GB as the file size.

1. Click on the Create Export button.

1. Google will create an archive containing the selected data. This may take longer. You don’t have to keep Google Photos open till it is complete. Once an archive is created, you will automatically receive a confirmation email.

1. Download the archive after completion. Extract it using 7-Zip File Manager.

Step 2: Upload Photos on iCloud

1. Login to your iCloud account.

1. Click on the Photos icon.

1. Click on the Upload icon.

1. Choose your extracted photos, and then click on Open.

Ideal For: Transferring lots of photos

Benefits:

• You don’t have to manually select photos one by one across different dates.
• It saves a lot of time and streamlines a part of the entire process.

Drawbacks:

• A slow Internet connection can impact the file transferring speed or interrupt it.
• Requires manual efforts such as extracting the downloaded archive’s contents and re-uploading them to iCloud.

  

Conclusion

Both Google Photos and iCloud are powerful photo storage and sharing platforms that help you secure your digital memories. There are multiple ways to transfer your photos from Google Photos to iCloud. If you have a handful of photos, you can manually download them and re-upload again. Or you may use the Bluetooth-powered sharing feature to eliminate the hassle of downloading and uploading them yourself. If you have hundreds of photos, manually selecting each photo may not be an ideal solution. Your best bet is to export them using the Google Takeout service and then re-upload them on iCloud.