Google is rolling out a powerful new way to access and share Google Photos content, but iPhone users and most major Android brands will miss out.
As detailed in a recent Google Photos support document, Google has started rolling out a new feature called “default gallery access.” This feature gives selected smartphones two-way access to Google Photos libraries directly from their default gallery apps.
Unfortunately, the feature is currently available only to devices from OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, and Xiaomi, leaving iPhone and Samsung Galaxy users out of the picture for now.
With default gallery access enabled, users gain convenient access to their Google Photos libraries without having to switch to the Google Photos app. This means they can browse, download, edit and share content stored in Google Photos without leaving the system-provided gallery app—although Google Photos does need to be installed for the feature to work. This can be especially useful when the default gallery app offers functions that Google Photos does not support.
How It Works
Enabling the default gallery access on a Xiaomi 14 smartphone, for example, causes the gallery app to begin syncing images with Google Photos in the background. For larger photo libraries, this process may take quite some time, but you can continue to use the gallery while the process continues.
Once connected, any photos and videos stored in Google Photos can now be edited directly in the gallery app without first having to switch to the Google Photos app to download them. Selecting the album view in the gallery app reveals separate albums for favorites, videos, screenshots, and images shot locally with the device’s camera.
Unfortunately, the gallery app won’t show any existing albums created in the Google Photos library. Everything not in one of the categories above is simply lumped together in an album called “All photos.”
Testing default gallery access on an older Mi 11 Ultra smartphone revealed a slightly different setup process. The user is given the option to switch backup providers at will between Microsoft OneDrive and Google Photos. Google says default gallery access will work on devices running at least Android 11.
Important Caveats
In addition to the lack of Google Photos album support, default gallery access suffers from a few other significant shortcomings.
One major caveat is that your device must remain configured to back up your photos to Google Photos for the Google Photos sync to work. If your Google account is low on storage, you may wish to retain access to your library without automatically filling it up with new photos. Unfortunately, turning off Google Photo backup will disable default gallery access entirely and disconnect all synced images.
While this may prove frustrating for some users, it does make sense from the point of view of ensuring that any local edits you make are reflected in your Google Photos library.
Additionally, there are cases where the synchronization process isn’t entirely seamless. Google’s documentation notes that edits made on a different device or via the Google Photos website may sync correctly with connected gallery apps. There are also situations where album names and duplicate images can fail to sync correctly.
For these reasons, I would recommend sticking to the Google Photos app wherever possible until the above issues are resolved.
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