A few days ago, we reported that iPhone users all across the globe are
getting a Google Photos “perk” that even Google Pixel 4 users won’t
be getting in the future. Yes, we are talking about iPhone getting free
unlimited storage on Google Photos for free. The reason behind this iOS perk is
that after iOS 11, all the iPhone uses HEIC/HEIF to save the photos. HEIC is a
much more compressed photo file format without compromising photo quality. So
Google doesn’t convert them to JPEG and reduce their sizes as they are already
of reduced size. Recently, a report by Android Police states that Google is
aware of this thing and it is trying to fix this bug.
FYI, “Google Photos” offers free
unlimited storage capacity on its cloud service with reduced size of photos
while if you want to post original quality photos then you have to opt for its
premium service. How does Google provide free unlimited storage space? When you
choose this option, Google compressed the photos uploaded to them. So
basically, Google converts the photos and reduced the file size with a little
reduced photo quality.
But iPhone users HEIC image format to store the photos instead of JPEG. HEIC image format renders high-quality photos and at minimum file size. So when Google tries to convert them into JPEG file type then the size of the photos would be increased. So Google just uploads all the iPhone photos without converting them. Converting billions of photos of iOS users will cost millions to Google and it would be for nothing when they acquire more space on their database.
When Google was asked about this
loophole by Android Police, Google stated that they already know about this bug
and they are trying to fix this as soon as possible. But no statement was
revealed on how they are intending to fix this bug.
Whether Google will lower the file
size of the HEIC images even more by compressing them or convert them to JPEG
file even if it costs a few million to Google. It seems Google is trying to
bring iOS and Android free users of Google Photos to the same scale. Whatever
Google ends up deciding but one thing is sure that it will not allow users to
enjoy this free ride.
Unlike, Google’s previous Pixel
smartphone series, new Pixel 4 won’t be offering free unlimited storage space
on Google Photos with original quality. So it’s obvious that Google will not
allow other users to get this feature for free when its own latest smartphone
is missing this perk.
Other than iPhone, some Samsung
smartphone devices also offer an option to save images in HEIC format but it
seems that not most of the users have adopted this feature. So still, it is
unclear whether Google will fix this “issue” for iPhone users only or for all
the photos that are being uploaded to Google Photos in HEIC format.