Google Photos vs Drive: Which is better at managing photos
Google Photos and Drive are two different applications for managing files. However, when it comes to better photo management, you may be confused as to which option to choose. The two do this job fairly effectively, but in some ways they are separate from each other. Therefore, in this guide, we will make an in-depth comparison between these two Google applications and, ultimately, the one you should use to manage your photos effectively. Let’s start. Also see the steps to correct the Save Now option under Save to Google Drive.
Google Photos vs Drive: basic features
Google Photos, in its simplest form, could be called a gallery application with certain photo editing capabilities. Drive, on the other hand, is a cloud storage service provided by the giants of Silicon Valley. The first allows you to view all the photos stored on your device. However, this is not the case with the latter. Until and unless you manually upload files to Drive, it will be empty by default. Without the Internet, Drive is of no use, while you can still view the images stored on your device via Google Photos, even when offline.
Google Photos vs Drive: file support
Google Photos supports all popular image and video formats. These include JPG, PNG, MP4, etc. Apart from that, it also supports GIF files. But that’s all. If we’re talking about Google Drive, you can store almost any type of file, including PDF, EXE, APK, ZIP, JPG, MP4 and many more.
Google Photos vs Drive: storage
Without a shadow of a doubt, Google Photos is a clear winner, if we limit ourselves to image processing. Photos and Google Drive initially offer 15 GB of storage. But always keep one thing in mind. These 15 GB are not allocated to individual Google applications. Drive, Photos, Gmail, and all Google services connected with a common Google ID share these 15 GB. However, Google Photos still has a pretty clever feature that surpasses Drive.
The former offers you unlimited storage, albeit with one outlet. You can store as many photos and videos as you want, in high quality. By high quality we mean a slightly compressed version of the original file. However, general users might not notice a significant difference in quality. Indeed, the images are compressed to 16MP while the videos are compressed to 1080p, which is more than enough, given the advantages attached. However, if you still want to use the original quality, you will have to use from this 15 GB of shared quota.
Processing files
This is an area where Google Drive override the photos, and by a fairly large margin. You cannot create a new folder in Photos. Or even moving images and videos from one place to another is not possible. However, it will create a new folder for the applications that process your multimedia files (like any photo editing application). But you cannot rename or move other files in or out of the application. You will need to use any file explorer for this. You could only create a new album from the app.
Unlike Photos, Google Drive offers all of these features. You can create a new folder, rename it, move files to it and other related things. And all of these functions could very well be transported from its Android application itself.
Other features of Drive and Google Photos
Besides the usual features, both Pictures and Google Drive also comes with other useful features. In the case of Google Photos, you have an Editor mode. It also hosts filters, light and pop color effects, a cropping document, and a Doodle function. Apart from that, the app also comes with a built-in Google lens. In addition, you can also create an album, a film, a collage or an animation.
Google Drive also has a couple of features up its sleeves. You can create a new Google Docs, Sheets or Slides directly from the app. In addition, it also comes with its own scanning tool (OCR). However, Google Lens is not yet integrated into the application.
Which one should you use
Well, both have their pros and cons, but if we limit ourselves to managing photos and videos, Google Photos has the upper hand on Drive. Auto backup and sync functionality, various photo editing features, and unlimited storage of high-quality media files make it the go-to choice. What do you think about this? Do you share the same thoughts as mine? Let us know in the comments section below.