Transfer Photos With iCloud
If you’re using the same Apple ID for multiple devices, iCloud is an amazing way to transfer your photos or videos. What makes iCloud great is that you don’t have to do anything; your pictures will be automatically added to your Mac’s Photos app and any other device with the same Apple ID. The downside is that it doesn’t happen immediately.
In order to transfer your photos, you’ll need to enable iCloud Photos on both your iPhone and your Mac.
How to enable iCloud Photos on your iPhone:
- Go to the Settings app.
- Scroll down and select Photos.
- Toggle iCloud Photos on.
How to Enable iCloud Photos on your Mac:
- Open the Photos app.
- Click Photos on the menu at the top of your screen.
- Select Preferences
- Click the iCloud tab.
- Click on iCloud Photos.
Now your photos will be automatically added to your Mac’s Photos app. Remember that you can choose to download the original photos or an optimized version, so you don’t fill your Mac’s storage with pictures and videos.
Tip: Some iPhone users will have another option called Photo Stream available. This feature will only upload the most recent photos that you took in the last 30 days. You can enable this feature following the steps above, but it might not be available for you. Apple says that some recent Apple IDs might not have this feature available. In that case, you’ll need to keep using iCloud Photos.