To download Google Photos to your iPhone, open the Google Photos app, tap and hold a photo until a check mark appears, then select all the photos you want. Tap the Share icon and choose "Save to Device" to place them directly into your Apple Photos app under "Recent".
How to download Google photos to iPhone directly to the Photos app
This is the fastest method for transferring single or multiple photos from Google Photos to your iPhone's local storage. After selecting your photos in the Google Photos app, using the Share menu and the "Save to Device" option places them directly in the Apple Photos app. This approach works best when you need a handful of specific images rather than your entire library.
How to download an entire album from Google Photos to your iPhone
To download a full album, open the Google Photos app and go to Library. Open the album you want, tap the three dots in the top right corner, and select "Download All" if the option appears. If "Download All" is missing from the app, you can use a workaround in the Safari browser. Open Safari, go to photos.google.com, log in, select the photos, tap the three dots, and choose "Download". For larger libraries, you may prefer to download all photos from Google photos at once to PC to avoid filling your iPhone's storage, or you can download all photos from Google photos to external hard drive for a safe offline backup that frees up space everywhere.
How to move photos from the Files app to your Apple Photos app
Photos downloaded through Safari on your iPhone are saved to the Files app, not directly to Apple Photos. To complete the transfer, open the Files app, go to Downloads, tap on the image, tap Share, and then select "Save Image". This essential extra step ensures your downloaded photos appear in your camera roll and the Apple Photos app.
How to transfer all Google Photos to iCloud without downloading to your iPhone
Google offers a direct server-to-server transfer service via Google Takeout that moves your photos from Google Photos to Apple iCloud Photos without using your iPhone's local storage. To use this method, go to Google Takeout, select "Google Photos", choose "Apple - iCloud Photos" as the destination, sign in to your Apple Account, and tap "Allow" to share permission. Before starting, ensure iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive are turned on, you have sufficient iCloud storage, and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud is turned off (you can re-enable it after the transfer completes). Transferred photos will appear in the Apple Photos app in an album called "Import from Google" with the date of the transfer.
Important tips before you download photos from Google Photos
Before you begin, grant the Google Photos app permission to access your iPhone's Photos by going to Settings → Google Photos → Photos. Ensure your iPhone has enough free storage space to store the downloaded photos, and that you have sufficient iCloud storage if using the direct transfer method. Be aware that as of June 1, 2021, all photos and videos backed up to Google Photos count towards the 15GB of free storage shared across Google services, regardless of quality. When downloading photos from the Google Photos app or using Google Takeout, associated metadata such as date/time, location, and file name should be preserved. If you need to organize Google photos after downloading, the Apple Photos app provides albums and folders to help you sort your imported images.
