Microsoft Photos Companion for Android and iOS is Now Available

Microsoft Photos Companion for Android and iOS is Now Available

Microsoft has released its Photos Companion app for Android and iOS, which integrates with the Photos app in Windows 10.

Photos Companion is a Microsoft Garage project, meaning that you might not want to get too attached to it: Microsoft has a history of quietly abandoning Garage projects that don’t pan out or step on the toes of its more formal software projects. But it’s an interesting idea, even for those who are already backing up photos to the cloud: It lets you transfer photos and videos from a phone to a Windows 10 PC, assuming they’re both on the same Wi-Fi network.

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“The app supports direct wireless transfer between any phone or mobile device and the Photos app on any Windows 10 PC,” Microsoft explains. “This enables [users] to transfer media to their own computers … without worrying about network speeds or mobile data charges.”

The Photos Companion was originally created for the education market, but it could obviously be of interest to a much broader audience than that. And if you are using the Photos app on Windows 10 and want to take advantage of its rich new photo editing and video creation capabilities, this looks like a great way to get at your phone-based content. So it’s worth checking out.

You can download Photos Companion for Android from the Google Play Store

You can download Photos Companion for iOS from the Apple App Store

 

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Conversation 21 comments

  • James Hancock

    15 February, 2018 - 9:09 am

    <p>Now: A. Have it remember your computer so that it just works as soon as you're within wifi and can sync all of your photos for you without having to do anythying.</p><p>And B. Get this same sort of functionality in groove immediately along with ratings and dynamic playlists so that I can pair my phone and whenever I'm in wifi it automatically updates my music collection based on whatever playlist I specify. This should have been done YEARS AGO. Like Windows 8.0 YEARS AGO.</p>

    • SvenJ

      15 February, 2018 - 8:24 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#245932"><em>In reply to JohnGalt1717:</em></a> So you want Zune back.</blockquote><p><br></p>

      • johnny777

        19 February, 2018 - 3:22 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#246111"><em>In reply to SvenJ:</em></a></blockquote><p>Exactly. This is backwards innovation. Nothing new here, just a dumbed-down version of what Zune fantastically offered 6 years ago. Somehow it's being praised by dummies in the media more interested in patting MSFT on the back.</p>

  • gregsedwards

    Premium Member
    15 February, 2018 - 9:33 am

    <p>Will definitely give this a look, but isn't this already possible via OneDrive? What happens if you use both?</p>

    • djross95

      Premium Member
      15 February, 2018 - 9:52 am

      <blockquote><a href="#245953"><em>In reply to gregsedwards:</em></a><em> </em>Same question I had. Seems like a waste of time to me unless there are significant editing capabilities (which there don't seem to be). </blockquote><p><br></p>

      • rfog

        15 February, 2018 - 10:10 am

        <blockquote><a href="#245970"><em>In reply to djross95:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>In Spanish, there is an expression: "dar palos de ciego", that could be translated to: "<span style="color: rgb(60, 60, 60);">lash out in the dark". </span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(60, 60, 60);">And there is another: "para ver si suena la flauta", that could be translated to: "to see if the flute sounds".</span></p><p><br></p><p>Combined: "Microsoft está dando palos de ciego para ver si suena la flauta": Microsoft is lashing out in the dark to see if the flute sounds. Since Windows 8.0. Without look. My guess is that about 2020 MS will completely abandon the end user and will center only in big companies and the Enterprise.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

        • rfog

          16 February, 2018 - 1:06 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#245971"><em>In reply to rfog:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Oh, oh, oh, I like those negative points. 🙂 </p><p><br></p><p>Another crazy Spanish expression: "give time to the time". ;-)</p>

        • djross95

          Premium Member
          17 February, 2018 - 9:40 am

          <blockquote><a href="#245971"><em>In reply to rfog:</em></a><em> </em>Here's a third expression, in English. "It was a simple concern/question, expressed solely based on the limited info presented in this article. The product may ultimately turn out to be marvelous (though I doubt it), and I'm certainly willing to amend my initial opinion if that occurs". That work for you?</blockquote><p><br></p>

          • rfog

            20 February, 2018 - 1:57 pm

            <blockquote><a href="#246398"><em>In reply to djross95:</em></a></blockquote><p>thumbs-up. :-)</p>

  • dontbe evil

    15 February, 2018 - 9:45 am

    <p>mmm not enough, we need a real photo app that sync wit one drive … and also windows maps</p>

    • Jeremy Petzold

      15 February, 2018 - 8:05 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#245956"><em>In reply to dontbe_evil:</em></a></blockquote><p>so….lets say your mom wants a photo you have on your phone……</p>

      • dontbe evil

        17 February, 2018 - 7:23 am

        <blockquote><a href="#246110"><em>In reply to Jeremy_Petzold:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>share via onedrive, email, skype, whatsapp, messenger…</p>

  • rfog

    15 February, 2018 - 9:47 am

    <p>At least in iOS, OneDrive app periodically decides that is time to upload all my more than 18.000 photos one more time. </p><p><br></p><p>I expect they have resolved this with this app, but not much hope…</p>

  • Curtmcgirt

    15 February, 2018 - 12:35 pm

    <p>Local wifi sync? Because syncing photos via onedrive is not convenient for people with dialup, and usb cables are hard to find? </p>

    • rameshthanikodi

      15 February, 2018 - 4:52 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#246022"><em>In reply to Curtmcgirt:</em></a></blockquote><p>not sync, just transfer.</p>

  • michaelpatricehuber

    Premium Member
    15 February, 2018 - 1:23 pm

    <p>This has very different functionality than OneDrive. The new app is about sending pictures a few pictures ad hoc to Photos app when both the phone and the PC are connected to the same Wifi. The two devices don't even need to be connected to the same Microsoft Account, I think. The connection is created by scanning a QR code each time.</p>

    • gregsedwards

      Premium Member
      15 February, 2018 - 2:57 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#246047"><em>In reply to michaelpatricehuber:</em></a></blockquote><p>Oh, well then. That seems like an epic waste of time.</p>

  • IanYates82

    Premium Member
    15 February, 2018 - 4:05 pm

    <p>Not a waste of time Debbie downers. </p><p>I can see this being very useful for education – shared environment so you can't necessarily have the same MS account or even have the bandwidth to hit onedrive and then pull the photo back. </p><p><br></p><p>Think of it like beaming the photo to the desktop / laptop. Handy in a pinch. </p><p><br></p><p>The lack of cloud data involvement is a plus – why involve the slow pipe? </p>

  • rameshthanikodi

    15 February, 2018 - 4:53 pm

    <p>works as advertised. I like it!</p>

  • NazmusLabs

    16 February, 2018 - 7:15 am

    <p>Does not support iOS correctly. The edits I made to photos in iOS, such as cropping, color adjustments, all disappears when the photos transfer. Seems like the developers isn't using the APIs correctly.</p>

  • johnny777

    19 February, 2018 - 3:19 pm

    <p>Why are we praising a watered down version of a Zune feature from 6 years ago instead of calling Microsoft out for non-innovation here? Zune did this much better — the way it should be done, and is a feature I miss. </p><p><br></p><p>I had it set up that when wife or I returned home with our Lumia phones that would then connect to my home wireless network and phone was charging that our phones would automatically upload any new photos to a specific directory on my home network. Bingo, none of this manually transferring photos from phones.</p><p><br></p><p> Another 1 step forward, 3 steps back for Microsoft. Yay for going backwards! Come on, call them out on this! Terrible!</p>

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