ZimaOS 1.8 brings a private Google Photos alternative to your own NAS

PC and smartphone with ZimaOS Photos

With ZimaOS 1.8, manufacturer IceWhale is expanding its self-hosting operating system with built-in photo management. ZimaOS Photos aims to combine the convenience of established services like Google Photos and Apple iCloud with control over your own data. Instead of storing personal photos exclusively in the cloud, users can manage their photo libraries on their own ZimaOS hardware, complete with automatic smartphone backups and remote access.

Christian Hintze (translated by Christian Hintze), Published 10/15/2026 🇩🇪

Today, October 15, the manufacturer of ZimaBoard, IceWhale, announced the release of the next version of ZimaOS. Based on CasaOS, an open-source project, ZimaOS is an operating system for home servers that runs on any x86 PC and comes preinstalled on devices such as the ZimaBoard and ZimaCube.

The biggest new feature in ZimaOS 1.8 is an integrated photo management system similar to Google Photos or Apple iCloud, except that photos and data remain on a private server or NAS. With a range of convenient features, the system is designed to make it even easier to leave the major cloud providers behind.

What can the new photo management system do?

Chronological photo browsing: Browse images by year, month, and day. Albums, favorites, recently viewed images, and personalized memories round out the experience.Smart search: Search by scene descriptions to make it easier to find specific photos. According to the provider, this feature uses on-device AI.
Automatic smartphone backup: The Zima Client can automatically transfer existing and newly captured photos to your own ZimaOS system. Interrupted backups resume once the connection is restored.
Remote access and sharing: Photos can be accessed at full resolution while on the go and shared with others.
Support for multiple formats: Live Photos, RAW files, and 360-degree panoramas can be used without prior conversion.
Location-based browsing: A map view helps users find photos based on their geographic location.
Integrated metadata: Camera details, image dimensions, and other information remain directly associated with the corresponding photos.

With version 1.8, ZimaOS Photos becomes an integral part of ZimaOS, eliminating the need for complex manual setup through third-party apps. Automated backups and RAID support round out the storage solution.

Beyond the new photo management system, ZimaOS also brings several other features and improvements. Fan control has been revised for selected devices, including the display of AMD CPU temperatures. Docker system management has been further optimized, RAID repair capabilities have been improved, bugs have been fixed, and more. ZimaOS 1.8 can be downloaded here.

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IceWhale

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Editor of the original article: Christian Hintze - Managing Editor Laptops - 2499 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2016

A C64 marked my entry into the world of PCs. I spent my student internship in the repair department of a computer shop and at the end of the day I was allowed to assemble my own 486 PC from “workshop remnants”. As a result of this, I later studied computer science at the Humboldt University in Berlin, with psychology also being added to my studies. After my first job as a research assistant at the university, I went to London for a year and worked for Sega in computer game translation quality assurance. This included working on games such as Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Company of Heroes. I have been writing for Notebookcheck since 2017.

> Expert reviews and news on laptops, smartphones and tech innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2026 10 > ZimaOS 1.8 brings a private Google Photos alternative to your own NAS

Christian Hintze, 2026-10-15 (Update: 2026-10-15)

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