Google Photos has disrupted the industry of cloud-based media file backup. By offering free, unlimited storage for storing photos and videos on smartphones, this app will appeal to any Android (or even iPhone) user. An increasing number of Android phones only have the Photos app, with no other default gallery apps pre-installed.
But is Google Photos the only image viewer you need on your phone? Probably not.
There's a lot to love about Google Photos. In addition to top features like photo backup, search, and facial recognition, Google Photos Assistant also creates albums, animations, and even movies from events.
Google Photos even has some neat features like click-and-drag gestures to highlight multiple images quickly, along with a one-tap button to free up space by deleting copied media files. Save from your phone. If you have a Google Cast device like a Chromecast, you can easily project your photos and videos onto the big screen. And these are just a few of the things Google Photos can do.
There are some cool gallery apps available that can do a lot more. Many of these options feel like familiar “gallery apps.” This helps longtime Android users feel more comfortable.
On the Google Play Store, there are many alternative applications to Android's default library. They provide more interesting features than the default library such as connecting to Dropbox or Google Photos accounts, etc. Depending on your needs and desires, you can choose the following applications.
Applications that replace Android's default photo gallery
Simple Gallery is designed similarly to Android's default gallery app, but the features are different. Click on the three ⋮ marks at the top right, you can increase/decrease the number of columns displaying images.
The app contains no ads and only requires necessary permissions. The application also has the feature to show the date taken on the image.
Piktures is a feature-rich photo gallery app that offers many useful options like syncing with Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google accounts. You can also connect the application to your desktop or use the hard drive access feature.
By tapping the calendar icon at the top right, you can view images by date. Tap ⋮ -> Album Settings -> Grid Settings to sort photos by column, by default, by name, date, size, and last modified.
A+ Gallery also allows syncing with your accounts. But unlike Piktures, the app lets you connect to accounts like Facebook and Amazon Cloud Drive (as well as Dropbox). When creating a new album, the images will be added to the album saved on both the device and the SD card.
The application provides a safe folder where you can save photos that you don't want others to see. Your photos are automatically sorted by location and time. You can search for images by color – just tap the search icon and select a color in the bottom row.
4. F-Stop Gallery
F-Stop Gallery features Places Plot geolocation data from your photos on a map. You can also see the exact coordinates of any photo on Google Maps.
There are a lot of sorting options in this app. In addition to sorting by name and shooting date, you can also sort by size and even by day, week, month or year. Each image can be evaluated with a long press while viewing full screen.
While the app has a free version, upgrading to the Pro version unlocks features like metadata writing, custom sorting, themes, nested albums, and more.
Download F-Stop Gallery (Free) | F-Stop Gallery Pro ($5).
5. Camera Roll
Open source library applications are worth mentioning. Public source code means you know there's no tracking going on in the background, and that's a big deal when working with something as intimate and identifiable as your photos. So if Simple Gallery doesn't satisfy you, consider Camera Roll instead. To demonstrate its open source credentials, like Simple Gallery, you can also download Camera Roll on F-Droid.
Camera Roll probably won't convince you of its features, but it does offer a more stylish, less boring way to browse photos on your device. There are no ads or in-app purchases. The built-in image editor isn't feature-rich, but you can easily open photos in a separate editor if needed.
Download Camera Roll (Free)
6. Google Gallery
If you don't have any problems with the Google ecosystem, then the Google Photos alternative you're looking for might be Google's own Gallery app. Google Gallery is an offline-oriented alternative to Google Photos, allowing you to view your images without having to worry about integration with the cloud service.
Google Gallery is a fun app that helps you quickly scroll through photos, videos, and folders. You can also apply automatic corrections to your images or apply a large number of filters. There aren't many more features than that, but there aren't any ads or in-app purchases either. That is also a huge advantage.
Download Google Gallery (Free)
Google Photos is a great app that helps preserve your precious memories in the most cost-effective way. But it's not the only option. You can check out some online alternatives to Google Photos.
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