Google Photos

Since I bought my iPhone 6, I’ve been using Google+ as a bonus backup system. I had a free terabyte in Google Drive, so I thought I might as well put it to use. and Google’s photo features have always been super fun, with things such as Auto Awesome, and the stories and mini movies it creates. Being able to take a series of photos along a coastline or a big view and knowing Google+ will automatically stitch it into a huge panorama is also a big plus (ha) as well.

Google’s photo solution has also always, always, been faster and better than iCloud. I’ve had many times where I’ve taken a photo on my iPhone, and I want to do something with said photo on my Mac or a computer at school, and Google Photos has been way faster than waiting for Photos.app on the Mac or iCloud.com/photos to load.

Now, I am fully invested into Google’s new photo solution: Google Photos. After being renamed/revamped/remade for the umpteenth time, I really think Google has it down. And, since my 1 terabyte of storage has expired and I’m only on the 1.99/month 100 GB plan, I don’t have to worry about paying for more data, since Google is backing up photos up to 16 megapixels, which I think is plenty, for free.

Google Photos isn’t my only solution at the moment, as I use it alongside iCloud Photo Library. But the things Google does with your photos, and the amount of ‘machine learning’ features it has that allows it to do stuff on its own, such as tagging faces automatically, learning locations, making movies (all features of the apps formerly known as iLife, but without the part where you have to manually make them) make it a killer photo solution. And since its free, it’s a product I think a lot of people should use.