In 2019, Microsoft and Samsung announced a special partnership that would see many Microsoft apps and services be preloaded onto millions of Galaxy handsets worldwide. That partnership has continued to this day, with the latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Flip 7 handsets continuing to ship with Microsoft apps like Outlook, Office, Phone Link, and OneDrive pre-installed.
The partnership also resulted in OneDrive being deeply integrated into Samsung's ecosystem, becoming the default cloud backup solution for photos taken and stored using Samsung's included Gallery app. Samsung dropped its own cloud-backup solution in favor of Microsoft's, and that's what has powered photo backups on all Galaxy phones since.
Now, Android Authority reports that it looks like Samsung is gearing up to drop support for OneDrive, 6 years after it was first introduced. Strings spotted in the OneUI 8.5 version of the app appear to confirm that Samsung is preparing to sever ties with OneDrive, with strings such as "Sync with OneDrive ending soon" being present.
Instead of OneDrive, it looks like Samsung wants to start using its own cloud backup solution. Samsung Cloud has existed for many years, and now it wants Samsung Cloud to handle your photos too. OneDrive integration will be ripped out of the Gallery app, though you'll still be able to backup photos to OneDrive using the dedicated OneDrive app if you want.
Most users have moved away from using OneDrive as a photo backup solution these days. OneDrive used to be great for this, but competing services like Google Photos and iCloud have improved a lot in recent years, to the point where most users just choose to use whatever comes as default on their phone.
OneDrive still exists for those who want it, and it's a great cloud backup solution for files and documents. It's also good for photos if you use it as a secondary backup service in addition to the one that comes on your phone. That's how I use it, and it works well.
What are your thoughts on Samsung dropping OneDrive as its photo cloud backup solution? Will this impact you? Let us know in the comments.
