What you need to know
- Google's future Pixel phones will not offer unlimited 'high-quality' Google Photos backup.
- Like other phones, future Pixel owners will have to pay for Google One after they hit the 15GB cap.
- Existing Pixel devices, however, will continue to be exempt from Google's policy change.
Yesterday, Google announced that any new photos and videos uploaded to Google Photos will count toward the free 15GB of storage it offers with every Google account, starting June 2021. While the Pixel 5 and other existing Pixel devices are exempt from this change, Android Central has now learned that future Pixel phones will not be exempt from the quota change.
As confirmed by Google in its blog post, photos uploaded from existing Pixel phones will not be impacted. If you own a Pixel phone, you can continue to upload photos and videos in High quality, without having to worry about hitting the 15GB cap.
Owners of future Pixel devices, however, will not enjoy that same benefit. Just like users with non-Pixel devices, they will have to spend money to expand their storage through Google One. As explained by our very own Jerry Hildenbrand in his editorial yesterday, Google Photos is now the best reason to get a Pixel phone. While it is certainly disappointing that future Pixel phones will not allow you to upload unlimited photos and videos in High quality to Google Photos, most users may not have to actually buy additional storage.
Google claims the free 15GB of storage it offers with every account allows users to store "roughly three more years worth of memories."
