Google Drive is the primary choice of cloud storage for Android and iPhone users, thanks to its ease of use, reliability, and cross-platform availability. It’s one of the most powerful productivity apps on your phone, whether that’s one of thebest budget Android phonesor a pricey Apple iPhone. While Drive comes pre-installed on Android devices, if you use an iPhone, you must download the app from the Play Store. When it’s installed and you sign in, you’ll find everything looks the same. That’s because the Google Drive UI and its functions are the same no matter which platform you use.
If you’reswitching from Android to iOS, you’ll feel at home with the familiar design. The search giant has done a splendid job of keeping up with new iOS features. Google Drive supports home screen widgets, lock screen widgets, Face ID protection, and more. Let’s check it in action.
Install Google Drive on your iPhone
Google Drive is available to download from the App Store. The app also has an app for iPad.
Everything you’ve uploaded to Google Drive will be there.
It may take a few minutes for everything to appear, depending on how much you have in your Google Drive and the speed of your internet connection.
Turn on backups for photos and videos in Google Drive
you’re able to activate media backup in Google Drive and upload your photos and videos to the Google Photos platform.
You can upload your device and iCloud contacts to Google Contacts and sync calendar events to Google Calendar from the same menu. Google Drive starts the media upload in the background. Connect your iPhone to a high-speed Wi-Fi network for a flawless background upload process.
Turn on Face ID authentication
Google doesn’t offer biometric security for its app on Android, yet an iPhone user can secure their Google Drive using only their face. Here’s how to turn on Face ID protection for Google Drive on your iPhone:
Use your Google Drive files when you’re offline
If you plan to travel to areas with limited network connectivity, make your important Google Drive files available when you’re offline. Give yourself time for the files to download to your phone, especially if you have a lot of files.
Make sure you have enough physical storage space on your iPhone for your Google Drive offline files.
How to use Google Drive search filters on Android and iOS
Find those files in a flash
Add Google Drive widgets to the home screen
Google Drive offers a couple of widgets to place on the home screen. The widgets allow you to quickly access your files and search Google Drive from the iPhone home screen.
Add Google Drive widgets to the lock screen
You can install interactive home screen widgets on any iPhone that supports iOS 17. Google Drive is not one of those you can interact with, but tapping the widget opens your Google Drive for quick access.
For even quicker access, install the Google Drive widget on the lock screen, along with other Google apps such as Chrome, Gmail, and Calendar. Follow the steps below to place a Google Drive widget on the iPhone lock screen.
If you’re a power Google Drive user, set up lock screen widgets to access your files with a single tap.
Keep your Google Drive storage in check
Google no longer offers unlimited free media backup (for reduced quality) in Google Photos. With your 15GB of free storage shared with Gmail, Google Photos, and Drive files, it’s easy to fill up your Google Drive storage. You can open Google Drive and check the storage breakdown from the hamburger menu. If you run out of space, consider upgrading to one of the Google One plans. Read ourdedicated post to learn more about Google One.
Use Google Drive like a pro
Accessing your Gmail, Calendar, Notes, and cloud files on any device is what makes Google services useful. It doesn’t matter if you use iPhone or Android because Google remains the same across all of them. Read our handy guide toset up and use Google Drive on a Macto take advantage of the Google ecosystem.
