It took Apple a long time, but the next iOS update – iOS 26.1 – will bring a long-requested feature. According to documents found by 9to5Mac, the company is working on a new PhotoKit framework, which will provide a seamless cloud backup experience for third-party apps. Here’s how Apple describes it: “In iOS 26.1 and later, PhotoKit provides a new Background Resource Upload extension type that enables photo apps to provide seamless cloud backup experiences. The system manages uploads on your app’s behalf, and processes them in the background even when people switch to other apps or lock their devices. The system calls your extension when it’s time to process uploads, and it automatically handles network connectivity, power management, and timing to provide reliable processing.”
With that, if you use Google Photos or other third-party gallery and cloud backup services, you’ll soon be able to sync your data more conveniently. At present, you have to keep the Google Photos app open and your iPhone’s screen turned on throughout the process to back up media. This is the problem that the new update aims to solve.
Now it’s all about developers implementing the new feature
With iOS 26.1 expected to launch in the coming weeks, Apple explains what developers need to do to implement this new Background Resource Upload extension. While it’s a straightforward process, Apple says some parts of this feature might require express user consent, which means they will have to ultimately allow apps to run in the background all the time. Still, if you use other services apart from iCloud, it’s going to be a lot more convenient to have your data synced at all times.
Besides this feature, iOS 26.1 is also working to expand Apple Intelligence to new languages for the platform, along with Live Translation. For years now, users have had issues with background file uploads on iOS. Hopefully, the new extension in iOS 26.1 will improve multitasking by allowing apps like Google Photos, Google Drive, WhatsApp, and Instagram to upload files in the background while performing other activities on the screen or when the iPhone is locked.
