You would think file transfer between iPhone and Android would have stopped being an issue by now. Yet, small differences in formats or features often create a roadblock. Before now, the Android Switch app didn’t support transferring burst photos from the iPhone.
You couldn’t carry over your entire set of photos to an Android phone. You would just settle for the best shot or manually move the files. Thankfully, a new update has improved Google’s transfer solution to help you move your collection at once.
Bridge between iOS and Android is one brick closer to complete
Burst photos is a phone feature that lets you take a rapid series of photos when you hold down the shutter button in your camera app. On iPhone, all the images are saved as a stack, allowing you to pick your favorite later.
Android Switch normally doesn’t support these stacks, but a Google update has changed that for Pixel devices. You can move multiple shots simultaneously via cable or WiFi, and the update is currently live.
The news came directly from Paul Dunlop, the Product Lead for Android Onboarding at Google, who shared the announcement on Threads.
Really pleased to confirm that the team have rolled out support for Burst Photo transfer when moving from iOS to Pixel, and is available as part of Android Switch.
With this update, you’ll always keep your full set of burst photos when transferring via cable or WiFi, meaning you can always choose a different best shot, even after making the switch from iOS to Pixel.
The feature is live now for up to date Pixel devices through initial setup and the Android Switch app.
A comment in the thread addressed what many of us might have been concerned about: whether the photos would transfer as a stack or as separate images. Paul clarified that they will indeed be grouped as a stack in Google Photos, provided you turn on the Photo Stack feature. But there may be slight differences in how Apple Photos and Google Photos organize them.
To enable Photo Stacks in Google Photos, open the app. Then tap the three-dot icon in the right corner. Tap the toggle button beside Stack similar photos. This feature will only work if you’ve backed up your photos.
Related: How to switch from iOS to Android
iPhone’s burst mode beats Google’s version
I’m with Apple in terms of how Burst photos work. Regardless of whether you want to back up the shots or not, iOS automatically keeps them piled, which is convenient. Your collections stay organized without cluttering your gallery, even if you don’t intend to back them up.
You can select your best shots and discard the rest. Not everyone wants to upload every single photo they take, especially if they’re just experimenting with the feature or don’t want to fill up cloud storage.
Also, if you really think about it, anyone switching from an iPhone to a Google Pixel is at a disadvantage. You’re leaving the luxury of a stable burst experience to a device that doesn’t support standard burst photos.
It still haunts me that Google removed the feature on Pixels and replaced them with Top Shot on the Pixel 3 back in 2018. While Top Shot does offer a workaround, it’s not the same as the traditional mode we used to have.
With Top Shot, you hold down the camera button, and it takes a video. As long as you keep holding the button, the video keeps recording. Then you can look at the video and swipe up to view all the shots that make up the video, selecting individual frames to view. It’s simple to do, except that only a few of the frames export at full quality. The rest have a poor resolution.
