Storage full: new Google Photos ad is amusing

Google Photos Storage Full ad image 001

We were first to tell you about the most recent update to the mobile Google Photos app, which packs in 3D Touch shortcuts on the Home screen whilst highlighting a storage optimization feature. The following day Google published this video, a nice play on the widely criticized problem of entry-level 16GB iPhones having nowhere near the capacity to hold all of the photos people take on their iPhones.

“Because life shouldn’t stop when your phone storage does,” says Google. “Free up space with Google Photos and never run out of storage again.”

Yes, Google actually shows an iPhone in the commercial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEK37MBTUPk

Soundtrack: ”Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen.

The video promises that you’ll never run out of storage again with its app.

Unlike Apple, which gives you a tiny five gigabytes of iCloud storage to back up your photos and videos, Google Photos provides unlimited cloud storage space for your media as long as it’s not beyond sixteen megapixels or 1080p, in which case those uploads do count against your Google storage.

Google Photos 1.13 for iOS iPhone screenshot 002
New in Google Photos: Settings → Manage Device Storage → Free Up Space will remove original full-resolution media from your device that’s backed up to Google.

On the other hand, iCloud Photo Library keeps your media backed up in iCloud in their original resolution and without recompressing the files. Google Photos recompresses your original photos to reduce the file size, resulting in a lot faster uploads.

The problem with Google’s approach is that once those photos have been recompressed and your originals get removed from the device, you’re stuck with recompressed media forever unless you remember to transfer the originals to your computer before syncing with Google Photos.

How do you like Google’s video?

Google Photos is a free download from the App Store.