Google Photos unlimited storage to stay free for some Pixel phone owners

Beat the end to unlimited Google Photos storage with certain Google Pixel models

Google Pixel
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Around several months ago, Google announced it would end unlimited storage on its Google Photos service. Now, recent information suggests that Google Pixel phone users will still continue to receive unlimited storage through the Google Photos Service.

Google posted the news that HQ upload (pictures under the 16MP bracket) from “Pixels 2-5 will continue to be free and unlimited after June 1st.” So, it’s good news for fortuitous owners of devices from the Google Pixel 2 to the Google Pixel 5; however, the offer does not extend to newer devices like the Google Pixel 5a or later.

The news comes from a Twitter update from Google Photos’ project manager, Raja Ayygari, following reports that informed users that they would lose the ability to upload and keep an unlimited amount of data in their Google Photos account.

As such, any files that are uploaded after June 2021's cut off point contribute towards users' overall Google account quotas. The changes layout that anyone with more than 15GB of photo or video content will be forced to shift this data to another platform or face Google's fee for additional storage space.

There's no word on whether or not the Pixel exemption will extend to hotly-tipped upcoming devices like the Google Pixel Fold, but it'll likely not be the case if the more recent Google Pixel 5a is not getting a storage pass either. 

Exceeding the storage limit will compel you to pay for a storage plan, but there are other options available through iOS on iCloud through our pick of the best iPhone models, or you could opt for a different handset from our best Android phones, which features devices that have their own proprietary storage options like the Samsung Galaxy S21 with Samsung Cloud. 

Source: Gizmodo

Luke Wilson

Luke is a former news writer at T3 who covered all things tech at T3. Disc golf enthusiast, keen jogger, and fond of all things outdoors (when not indoors messing around with gadgets), Luke wrote about a wide-array of subjects for T3.com, including Android Auto, WhatsApp, Sky, Virgin Media, Amazon Kindle, Windows 11, Chromebooks, iPhones and much more, too.