We’re all taking more pictures on our smartphones than ever before. Eventually, time will come when we have to transfer the snapshots on our Android device to make way for new ones. But what if the only backup storage at your disposal is a Mac computer? As you may well be aware, pairing Android to Mac computers isn’t as easy as inserting a USB cable between them. You’d often need the aid of a transfer software to move everything from music to pictures. Yes, that includes movies, podcasts, contacts, and other media files.
With that in mind, we’ll teach you a couple of easy and safe ways to transfer photos from Android to Mac with ease:
Connect Your Device via Android File Transfer
A wire-based file transfer program, Android File Transfer is best when you wish to move files the conventional way. As a start, install the application in your MacBook or Mac desktop (running OS X 10.5 or later versions). Afterward, connect your computer or notebook to your Android phone using the appropriate USB cable. Once the connection has been established, the phone will typically appear as a drive on your computer.
To start transferring the pictures from your smartphone, here are the easy steps:
- Connect your phone to your Mac’s USB port using the former’s charging cable.
- Open the Mac Finder on your computer.
- Search for the Android File Transfer on the list of available drives.
- Click on the Android drive icon.
From there, a file will open showing a complete list of applications. When you want to open/view any of the files shown, simply drag them to your desktop. As for your pictures, just import them to iPhoto to view them.
Control Your Phone on a Mac with AirDroid
An alternative, wireless way to transfer files from Android to Mac is by using the AirDroid app. After you set it up, you can basically navigate on your phone, download any files, and even send/receive SMS from a web browser on your Mac. The best part is that you won’t have to download any software on your desktop.
To enable AirDroid, you’ll need to use a Wi-Fi network. To begin, install the app on your Android phone. You then go to AirDroid.com on your Mac, sign in on the website, and you’ll then be given access to all the data on your phone. If you upgrade to a premium account, it gets even better: you can make phone calls directly from your Mac.
It’s really simple to set up AirDroid app and begin retrieving photographs from your Android phone. Follow these steps:
- On your smartphone, install the AirDroid app.
- After the installation, go to your MacBook and visit AirDroid.com.
- Create an account on the website.
- To sign in, use your email and password or Facebook/Google/Twitter account.
- You’re done!
You can now move files from your smartphone to your computer and vice versa after this initial setup.
Sync Photos from Android to Mac with Google Photos
It’s fairly easy downloading pictures from your Android device to any computer (including your Mac) using Google Photos. If you wish to set it up so any photos you saved on the app will automatically be accessible on your Mac, do the following:
- Install Google Photos Uploader on your Mac.
- Install the Google Drive sync app. This app will sync Google Drive on your computer.
- Access Google Drive from a browser. Afterward, select the Google Photos option.
- Navigate to Google Photos’ settings pane on Google Drive. Make sure that the ‘Create Google Photos folder’ option is enabled.
- To start syncing, go to your Mac’s Google Drive settings. From there, make sure the Google Photos folder in your Google Drive is selected.
It’s important to remember, though, that this setup will count against your Google Drive storage. That’s not a bad thing but it may be better to store your photos on Google Photos entirely (without syncing). This way, you can continue using the app’s unlimited storage.
As it turns out, all you ever needed to make your Android phone’s photos accessible to your Mac desktop is a Wi-Fi connection, a phone charger, and a bit of know-how.
