On June 1, the free unlimited storage of Google Photos for most devices ended, being a low blow for those who had spent years uploading their lives in photos to the cloud but so far the Google Pixel had been spared, but with the announcement of the new Pixel 5a the company has confirmed what was feared would happen: the new Pixels run out of unlimited Google Photos storage.
In this way, the new Pixel 5a loses one of its attractions and that if its previous models continue to be counted, already from the original Pixel to the Pixel 5 will have unlimited Google Photos storage for life, and having maintained this advantage in the new Pixels could boost their sales in those countries where they are put on sale.
The Pixel 5a without unlimited storage of photos and videos
At the end of last year Google itself confirmed that future Pixels were not going to have unlimited free storage but it was hoped that they will launch a special storage plan for their new Pixels, but it has not been the case. When consulting Google Store we see that the new Pixel 5a has 128 GB of storage, while in the Pixel 4a or Pixel 5 they have 128 GB with unlimited high-quality storage with Google Photos.
Google has not wanted to continue with unlimited storage in Google Photos on their new mobiles even temporarily, as happened with the backup in original quality of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 3, which for about three years had unlimited storage in original quality and after the date they went to unlimited storage in high quality. In the new Pixels they have not wanted to give even a few months of unlimited storage.
Now Google is limited to giving away three months of Google One with 100GB of cloud storage buying a Pixel 5a, that offer that is very small compared to the previous Pixel that are still for sale with their unlimited Google Photos storage. It is a pity that the new Pixels lose this important differentiation with respect to the other brands.
Therefore, those who buy a Pixel 5a will now only have 15 GB of free cloud storage, which gives us to save about 5,000 photos with the backup of Google Photos.
In Engadget Android | Google Photos is a monster: if you don’t use it anymore, Gallery Go is a lighter gallery app