Shutterfly in Apple Photos: The Picture-Perfect Integration

Enter macOS High Sierra, Apple’s latest OS for Macs, with a truly unique upgrade for its Photos app: direct integration of Shutterfly.

Once upon a time: an extension

Of course, there is already a Shutterfly extension available for Photos, however, the only problem with this tool is that it only serves one purpose: the uploading of chosen pictures to Shutterfly’s online storage. Basically it’s nothing more than a bridge connecting Photos with the photo book editor, since the rest of the photo book building and the ordering process still has to be completed by visiting your online Shutterfly account.

The extension in action

The nature of this extension only puts Shutterfly at a huge disadvantage, since Photos has an in-built (albeit rather primitive) photo book editor that also provides the option to order your photo books right away – without ever leaving the app for a second. In other words, despite providing an incredible amount of customization options and cost-friendly prices, it is very likely that Mac users won’t bother to visit Shutterfly but instead stick to Apple’s integrated solution.

This is why the release of the macOS High Sierra is important for both parties.

What seamless integration provides

With the release of macOS High Sierra, Photos now fully supports integration with third party solutions by providing extensions that can be officially downloaded from the App Store. This way access to popular printing services like WhiteWall, Wix, Mimeo, Mpix, and, of course, Shutterfly are all automatically built-in.

By installing the new, official Shutterfly extension, users can create, customize and order Shutterfly products without the need to leave Photos, making the process of building a photo book even more convenient. Integration of Shutterfly is so seamless that if you need those extra customization options that only Shutterfly’s online account provides, it’s possible to simply start creating the photo book in Photos and finish the project online by accessing Shutterfly.com.