Samsung has updated Gallery Cloud Sync, the system app that backs up the Gallery app on Galaxy phones and tablets, and the new version describes syncing photos and videos to Google’s cloud. The update is version 1.6.09.31 on the Galaxy Store and is for devices running One UI 9. It arrives two weeks before Gallery stops syncing with Microsoft OneDrive on 30 September 2026.
The feature is not live yet. The setting did not appear on a Galaxy S26 Ultra running the One UI 9 beta after the update was installed, and Samsung has not announced the service or given a launch date.
What the listing says
The Galaxy Store listing says Gallery Cloud Sync backs up photos, videos and albums to Google Cloud and keeps Gallery the same across a person’s Samsung devices, so a photo taken on a phone shows up on a Galaxy tablet. It works only on Samsung devices and needs a Samsung account and an internet connection.
Screenshots show a new “Sync photos and videos” option in Gallery settings, where the user picks a Google account and turns on “Sync with Google”.
The listing does not name Google Photos. It does not say whether synced pictures will appear in the Google Photos app, whether they count against the 15GB of free storage on a Google account, or whether deleting a photo in Gallery deletes the cloud copy, as it did with OneDrive. Samsung has not said which models or markets get the feature.
What happens to OneDrive
Gallery has synced to OneDrive since 2019. Microsoft’s support page and Samsung’s support page both say that sync ends on 30 September 2026. After that, OneDrive photos stop showing in Gallery, but they stay in OneDrive and remain available in the OneDrive app and on onedrive.com. Microsoft says new users can no longer link the two accounts.
To keep backing up to Microsoft, turn on camera backup in the OneDrive app. Samsung also suggests using “Download originals” in Gallery before the cutoff to put full copies of cloud-only photos back on the phone.
Samsung has not said when Google sync starts. The earliest date that lines up with the cutoff is 1 October.
What to do now
Backup through the Google Photos app has always worked on Galaxy phones separately from Gallery, so people who use it lose nothing on 30 September. People relying on Gallery’s OneDrive sync can switch to OneDrive’s own backup, turn on Google Photos backup, or wait. One UI 9 is still reaching phones in stages, and the Galaxy S23 and S24 only got their first beta this month, so waiting could leave new photos without a backup. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Series is currently receiving One UI 9 stable version.
Samsung made a similar move on its TVs in 2025, when we reported that 2021 QLED models swapped OneDrive for Google Photos in Magic Screen.
Join the discussion