How to Move Photos From Your iPhone to an Android Phone

The fastest way to transfer your photos

The simplest method is to use Google Photos, which works on both iPhone and Android. Upload your photos to Google Photos on your iPhone, then sign into the same Google account on your Android phone and download them. The whole process takes minutes and requires only an internet connection — no cables, no computer, no special software.

If you have hundreds of photos or want to move them without uploading to the cloud first, you can connect both phones to a computer using USB cables and transfer files directly. This is slower but keeps everything on your devices until you decide what to do with it. A third option is to use a cloud service you already have — OneDrive, Dropbox, or iCloud — though iCloud is less convenient on Android since Apple doesn't make an Android app for it.

Key Takeaways

Google Photos is the fastest method for most people: upload on iPhone, download on Android, both using the same Google account.
You can transfer photos through a computer by plugging in both phones with USB cables and copying files directly to your Android device.
Dropbox and OneDrive work on both phones if you already use them, though you'll need enough storage space for your full photo library.
Transferring through email or text message works for a handful of photos but becomes impractical for more than 10 or 20 images.

Using Google Photos (the easiest route)

Open Google Photos on your iPhone and sign in with a Google account — create one if you don't have one. Tap the profile icon in the top right, then go to Photos settings and turn on Backup and sync. Your iPhone will begin uploading photos to Google's servers. Depending on how many photos you have and your internet speed, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.

Once the upload finishes, go to your Android phone. Install Google Photos from the Google Play Store if it's not already there. Sign in with the same Google account you used on your iPhone. Your photos will appear in the library — you can download them to your Android's storage by tapping and holding a photo, then selecting Download. To download multiple photos at once, tap the first one, then hold Shift and tap the last one in the group you want, then download.

Google Photos gives you 15 GB of free storage across Gmail, Drive, and Photos combined. If your photo library is larger than that, you'll need to either delete photos as you go or pay for additional storage (100 GB starts at roughly $2 per month, though pricing varies by region).

Transferring through a computer with USB cables

Connect your iPhone to a computer with a USB cable. On a Mac, open Finder; on Windows, open File Explorer. Your iPhone will appear in the sidebar. Click it, then navigate to Files and look for the DCIM folder — this is where your photos are stored. Drag the photos you want to a folder on your computer.

Next, disconnect your iPhone and connect your Android phone with its USB cable. On most Android phones, a notification will appear asking whether you want to allow file access. Tap Allow or Yes. Open File Explorer or Finder again, find your Android phone in the sidebar, and navigate to the DCIM or Pictures folder. Drag the photos from your computer into this folder on your Android phone. This method is more reliable than cloud uploads if your internet is slow or unreliable, but it's also slower overall because you're copying files twice — once from iPhone to computer, once from computer to Android. It also requires a computer and two USB cables.

Using Dropbox or OneDrive

If you already use Dropbox or OneDrive, you can upload photos from your iPhone to your account, then download them on Android. Open Dropbox or OneDrive on your iPhone, tap the plus icon or upload button, select your photos, and wait for them to upload. Then open the same app on your Android phone, sign in with the same account, find your photos, and download them.

The main limitation is storage: Dropbox gives you 2 GB free, OneDrive gives you 5 GB free. If your photo library is larger, you'll need a paid plan. This method works well if you're moving just a few hundred photos or if you already pay for extra storage. Both apps also let you organize photos into folders, so you can keep them sorted during the transfer.

Why not use email or text message

You can email photos to yourself or text them to your Android phone, and this works fine for a handful of images. Most email services and text apps compress photos to reduce file size, so the quality will be lower than the original. Email also has attachment limits — usually 25 MB per message on Gmail, which means you can send roughly 5 to 10 compressed photos at a time.

For anything more than 20 photos, this becomes tedious and impractical. If you only have a few photos to move, it's convenient, but for any larger transfer, one of the other methods will save you time and preserve photo quality.

What happens to photos already on your Android phone

Transferring photos from your iPhone won't affect photos already on your Android phone. They'll stay in your gallery. If you're moving to Android for the first time, your old Android photos and your new iPhone photos will coexist in the same gallery app.

If you want to organize them, most Android phones let you create folders or albums within the gallery app. Google Photos also automatically organizes photos by date and location, so you can browse by when or where they were taken. You can also hide or archive photos you don't want to see regularly.

Transferring videos along with photos

All the methods above work for videos as well as photos. Google Photos, Dropbox, OneDrive, and USB transfer all handle video files. The main difference is that videos take up much more storage and upload time than photos — a one-minute video can be 100 MB or more, depending on quality.

If you have a lot of videos, the USB cable method is usually faster than uploading to the cloud. If you choose Google Photos or Dropbox, make sure you have enough free storage before you start, or budget extra time for the upload. You can also transfer videos and photos separately if you want to prioritize one over the other.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my photos be deleted from my iPhone after I transfer them?

No. Transferring photos copies them to your Android phone — it doesn't remove them from your iPhone. If you want to delete them from your iPhone after the transfer is complete, you'll need to do that manually by opening Photos, selecting the images, and tapping Delete.

Can I transfer photos if I don't have a Google account?

Yes. You can create a free Google account in a few minutes, or you can use Dropbox, OneDrive, or the USB cable method instead. All of these work without a Google account.

What if my internet is too slow to upload photos to Google Photos?

Use the USB cable method instead. Connect both phones to a computer and copy files directly. This bypasses the internet entirely and is often faster for large photo libraries, though it requires a computer and two cables.

Do I need to keep my iPhone and Android phone connected during the transfer?

Not for Google Photos or cloud services — once you start the upload on your iPhone, you can disconnect it and do other things. For USB cable transfer, both phones need to stay connected to the computer until the copy is finished.

Can I transfer photos from Android to iPhone using the same methods?

Yes. Google Photos, Dropbox, OneDrive, and USB transfer all work in both directions. The steps are the same, just reversed — upload from Android, download on iPhone.

This guide is for general information only and is not medical, financial, legal, or other professional advice. For decisions specific to your situation, consult a qualified professional. See our Editorial Policy.