Apple Will Soon Allow Android, Windows Users to Share Photos to iCloud Shared Albums

Apple hosted its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2026) in Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on Monday and previewed its upcoming software releases featuring the next generation of Apple Intelligence and Siri AI. During its annual developer event, the Cupertino-based company also announced a new update to iCloud Shared Albums. It has introduced cross-platform support for the iCloud Shared Albums. With this change, iPhone users will be able to share their albums with users of Android and Windows with original image quality.

Apple Brings Cross-Platform Photo Sharing

During WWDC 2026, Apple announced that iCloud Shared Albums will introduce cross-platform photo sharing with full-resolution support. With this feature, Android and Windows users will be able to share photos to iCloud Shared Albums while retaining full-resolution image quality. This functionality will be available with the release of iOS 27 and macOS 27 this fall.

Until now, Android users have not had a way to view or contribute files in iCloud Shared Albums. Windows offers limited support for basic viewing through the iCloud for Windows app. The latest feature will expand the cross-platform compatibility and bring Apple Photos closer to competing services such as Google Photos.

Apple previewed iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27 in the recently concluded keynote event. The latest version of operating systems comes with the next generation of Apple Intelligence and a revamped Siri AI alongside new features.

The upgraded Siri can understand personal context and search across messages, emails, photos, and other content to offer required data. It is designed to perform actions across apps, answer questions about content displayed on the screen or access the web to give answers to queries. The update includes a dedicated Siri app and new features for editing images in Photos, browsing across multiple tabs in Safari, communicating in Messages and Mail and more.

The upcoming software release includes new child safety features, including recommended essential apps for children, Ask to Browse, Time Allowances and a revamped Screen Time.