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Apple Opens iCloud Shared Albums to Android and Windows Users

Android and Windows users will be able to upload full-resolution photos to shared iCloud albums through iCloud.com as part of iOS 27.

Overview

  • Apple announced at WWDC 2026 that iCloud Shared Albums will let people on Android and Windows join shared albums and contribute photos and videos.
  • Contributions from non-Apple devices will upload at full resolution with no compression, preserving original photo and video quality.
  • The feature is tied to iOS 27, which is currently in developer beta, so the capability is confirmed but not yet widely available to the public.
  • Apple showed only a brief demo image during the keynote and has not published detailed Android and Windows user-flow steps, leaving authentication and exact upload workflows unclear.
  • The change reduces a major friction point for mixed-device families and collaborators and narrows a long-standing cross-platform gap with services such as Google Photos.