We had thought that the Google Pixel 6 could see the return of unlimited original quality photo storage, a feature that the original Pixel phones had but Google moved to remove. Unfortunately, that won't be the case.
Code titled “Storage Saver" was found in the Google Photo's app, 9to5Google reported, and states: “Unlimited storage in Storage saver or Express only applies to photos & videos backed up from this Pixel device.” That had implied that a new tier of free and unlimited will be coming for Pixel phones. But then Google told the publication that is was simply testing new names for photo backup options and that photo storage policies for current and future Pixel phones isn't changing.
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"There are no changes to what we previously announced regarding Google Photos storage for Pixel devices. We are exploring new names for our Photos backup options and have no plans to introduce additional storage options," Google told 9toGoogle.
That's a pity as the return of unlimited original-quality photo storage would have been great news for anyone considering a purchase of the Pixel 6. It could have even replaced the confusing system where it's still unclear how many photos someone can store for free.
Some time ago Google announced that it was no longer going to allow free, unlimited photo storage after June 1, 2021. Already, Pixel owners have lost uncompressed backups, retaining only lossy copies. The original Pixel retains that original quality however, but with the phone being four years old, there can’t be many in active use at this point.
As an aside, it’s well worth pointing out that one of the benefits of Amazon Prime is unlimited, uncompressed photo storage. It even includes camera raw files from some SLRs and mirrorless cameras. If Google is annoying you with limits, that might be another way to hold on to images in the cloud. Although, it does have to be said that Google Photos is a solidly amazing app and the functionality of it is hard to find in other online storage services.
