If you want to save a copy of your photos and videos from the Photos app to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 10.3 or later or iPadOS, or your Mac with OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 or later, follow these steps.
The old-fashioned way. Back in the old days, the only way to get massive quantities of photos off. Using Photos App: Connect your iPhone to your Mac. Plug one end of the iPhone's charging cable. To download iPhone photos to your Mac: Connect your iPhone to your Mac (iMac, MacBook, whatever). Wait for the iTunes sync process to finish. Start the Mac 'Image Capture' application.
If you're using a PC, you can set up iCloud for Windows and download a copy of your photos and videos from iCloud Photos.
Learn what happens when you delete a photo from iCloud Photos.
If you want to save copies of your photos and videos from iCloud.com to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or your Mac or PC, follow these steps.
Learn what happens when you delete a photo from iCloud Photos.
You can download copies of photos and videos in Shared Albums to your own library. Learn more about how to use Shared Albums.
Remember, when you delete a photo from iCloud Photos, it also deletes from iCloud and any other device where you're signed in with the same Apple ID — even if you turned on Download and Keep Originals or Download Originals to this Mac. If you choose to download your originals, this also impacts your device storage. Learn more about how to manage your device storage. You can also learn how to AirDrop your photos and videos to another device.
Transferring iPhone photos and videos to your Mac can save precious space on your mobile device. Plus, it’s easier to edit and retouch when you’ve got a larger screen with a higher resolution, not to mention that native Mac tools allow you to convert, resize, and organize your images in no time. In this article, we’ll cover the four quickest ways to transfer your images over.
Because iPhone and Mac are parts of the Apple ecosystem, there are multiple ways to connect them and move content around. Some involve using a USB cable, others work wirelessly. These methods have proven the handiest in our experience:
Let's talk about all these in more detail.
Although Macs have more storage than iPhones, that storage is not infinite, so you might want to avoid dumping thousands of unneeded pics onto your Mac. We’re talking blurry party selfies, multiple shots of the same sunset, taken just seconds apart, long-forgotten screenshots of long-forgotten conversations — those can add up to a few gigabytes.
So before you start the transfer, scan your iPhone pics with Gemini Photos: Gallery Cleaner. This app will find all the clutter you’ve accumulated over the years, such as similar shots and blurry photos, and help you delete them in no time.
Now that you’ve done that, here are our top ways to transfer photos and videos.
The most common ways to transfer pictures from your iPhone to your Mac involve connecting your devices with a USB cable. But even then, you have options depending on which application you want to use. Below you’ll read about four different apps that will help you sync your photos.
Starting with macOS Catalina (10.15) or later, you can sync your iPhone with a Mac using Finder. Follow these steps to sync photos from your iPhone to your Mac:
iCloud and Photos are obvious choices for image transferring, but they're not without flaws. If you want to transfer all content from your iPhone without having to wait forever, and back it up at the same time, a third-party utility like AnyTrans for iOS makes much more sense.
A combination of a backup tool and media downloader, AnyTrans helps you migrate content. Here’s how you use it to move photos and everything else from your iPhone:
Your content will travel instantly. What’s more, it will sync to iCloud — so there’s no need to worry your photos don’t have a backup.
One of the quickest methods is to plug the Lightning-to-USB cable you use to charge the iPhone into one of your Mac’s USB ports. When an iPhone is connected, the macOS Photos app automatically opens and suggests importing your photos. Here’s the import process, step by step.
Once the import is complete, you can ask Photos to automatically delete the pics on your iPhone, giving you space to start again and take even more pictures.
Another method for transferring your pictures from iPhone to Mac is with the Image Capture app, which comes by default with macOS. Follow these steps to import pics from your iPhone:
If you don’t have a USB cable nearby, don’t worry. You can still send pics from your phone wirelessly. And even if you have a cable close, you might want to try one of these methods to save you the hassle of plugging your iPhone into your computer.
If you need to move just a few of your images over to your Mac, the quickest way to do that is by using AirDrop.
Start by switching AirDrop on your iPhone.
Now switch it on on your Mac:
Give both devices a few moments to find one another.
Now, here’s how you transfer photos from your iPhone to your Mac with AirDrop:
Depending on your Mac’s settings, you may be asked where you want to save the photos. Once you’re done transferring, you can switch off AirDrop on your Mac and iPhone.
Another way to move photos from an iPhone to a Mac is with iCloud. iCloud Photo Library, a.k.a. iCloud Photos, can do all the heavy lifting. However, if you’ve got over 5GB of photos and videos, you’ll need to upgrade your storage plan, paying anything from $0.99 per month for 50GB to $9.99 for 2TB of cloud storage.
To set up iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone, follow these steps:
Tap on your name at the top
Now, to set it up on your Mac:
Provided you’ve followed both series of steps and both your devices are using the same Apple ID, your photos and videos will automatically sync between iPhone and Mac.
Remember: while you have iCloud Photo Library on, any changes you make to photos on one device will automatically sync to the other. So if you want to delete them on your iPhone and keep them on your Mac, switch off the sync after you’ve transferred everything.
Whichever method you use, Apple makes it easy to transfer photos and videos from an iPhone to a Mac. Just make sure you move the pics you really need, otherwise you’re just shuffling clutter around.