Transfer Photos From Mac to iOS Device via AirDropMove Photos From Mac to iOS Devices via iCloud PhotosUse iCloud Drive to Transfer Photos From Mac or Windows PC to iPhone and iPadHow to Transfer Photos From Mac or Windows PC to iPhone and iPad using Finder or iTunesHow to Transfer Photos From Computer to iPhone Without iTunes or Finder
Transfer Photos From Mac to iOS Device via AirDrop
An AirDrop is a proprietary tool on Apple devices that is fast, secure, and an effortless way to transfer photos, videos, and files between the same or different Apple developed operating systems. Before you begin:
On iPhone: Open Setting app and turn ON Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Also, ensure Personal Hotspot is OFF. Next, in the Settings app, tap on General → AirDrop → select EveryoneOn Mac: Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, to enable AirDrop
Move Photos From Mac to iOS Devices via iCloud Photos
iCloud Photos is a built-in way to sync all your pictures and videos among Apple devices. You turn it on once, and the images are uploaded, stored, and synced across devices that have your Apple ID. You can even access it from Windows PC or web on iCloud.com. Images are organized into years, months, days, and the changes (edits) you make to an image on one device are synced everywhere. Pretty cool! Now, you would have to wait until all of your pictures and videos are synced among your devices.
Transfer Photos From Mac or Windows PC to iPhone and iPad with iCloud Drive
iCloud Drive is Apple’s version of Google Drive. You can access iCloud Drive inside the Files app on your iPhone and iPad. On Mac, when you enable it, you will find it in the left sidebar of Finder. And, yes, you guessed it right. It is also available for Windows and web. Let us see how to use iCloud Drive to transfer photos from computer to iOS devices. Note: I am using iCloud Drive on the web. Tip: You can download the photos inside the Files app, select them, tap the share icon, and then tap on Save Image to have them in the Photos app.
Transfer Photos From Mac or Windows PC to iPhone and iPad using iTunes or Finder
Finder for Macs running macOS Catalina and iTunes for earlier Macs and Windows PC is a viable medium to transfer photos and videos from computer to your iOS devices. The steps for Finder and iTunes are almost identical. Take a look. The pictures will be synced to the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad. You can not delete them from the iOS device itself. To remove these photos, you have to follow the exact method above. In step 4, you can choose to un-sync all photos, or in step 5, you may uncheck the albums/people you wish to remove from your iPhone or iPad. Finally, click on Apply so that the changes can take effect.
Transfer Photos From Mac or Windows PC to iPhone and iPad without iTunes
There are several other ways to transfer photos from your Mac or Windows PC that does not require iTunes. Here are some of the easiest and most seamless methods.
Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone or iPad Using Google PhotosMove Photos from Mac to iPhone and iPad Via DropboxExport Photos from Mac to iPhone and iPad using EmailOther Methods to Copy Photos from Mac to iPhone
#1. Transfer Photos from Mac to iPhone or iPad Using Google Photos
Google Photos is undoubtedly one of the finest and smartest services to store and manage your pictures and videos. You can save up to 15GB of photos in full original quality. You get unlimited storage if you opt for High Resolution. I choose the latter. To use Google Photos, we will first upload the pictures to it from the computer and then use its iOS (or Android) app to get all images on the smartphone. If you want to save pictures from Google Photos to the iPhone’s Photos app, select the images, tap on the Share button, and tap Save Image.
#2. Move Photos from Mac to iPhone and iPad Via Dropbox
Dropbox is another useful service to store and transfer photos and videos from computer to iPhone and iPad. But it pales in comparison to Google Photos. First, it only provides 2GB of free storage. So, if you have a few photos then, this is enough. Secondly, Dropbox is now more focused on business. After you sign up (I did on a Mac), it takes you to a page where it kind of forces you to install its app (No, I do not want to install it now!). Anyways, once you go through the signup and everything, you can upload photos and videos to Dropbox from the computer using a browser or its app. After that download, the Dropbox app from the App Store and you have all your images on iPhone and iPad. You can further choose to save these images to the iPhone Photos app, from where you can easily edit them. Some of the excellent alternatives to Dropbox are Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive, Box, and Mega.
#3. Export Photos from Mac to iPhone and iPad using Email
I guess you already know this. But let me refresh it for you. Email is a handy way to quickly transfer one or a few images from a computer to an iPhone or iPad. For this, open the mail service of your choice like Gmail, iCloud, Hotmail, Yahoo, and send an email to yourself or one of the accounts that you use on your iOS device. Pro Tip for Multiple Images: Create a folder on your computer and add photographs you want in your iPhone; compress (zip) all images. Now send a mail to yourself with the zip file as an attachment. Finally, unzip the file on your iPhone or iPad.
#4. Other Methods to Copy Photos from Mac to iPhone
In addition to the above methods, there are other platforms or tricks to move photos from computer to your iOS device. A. Social Media Services: You can even use social media services like Facebook, Flicker, to upload photos from PC and then view or save them on your iPhone or iPad using the respective app. B. Chat Apps: You may even use chat services like iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Hike, etc. Open one of these on your Mac or PC and then send yourself a photo or video. Most of the chat apps do reduce the picture quality, but for a quick share, they might be helpful. C. Third-Party Transfer Apps: Yet another smart way to import photos from computer to iOS device is using tools like AnyTrans software or WinX MediaTrans. That’s all, folks! I hope this detailed guide was helpful and solved your photo transfer needs. If you have a follow-up question or confusion, ask it in the comments down below. You may also be interested in these posts:
Best Photo Vault Apps for iPhoneHow to Save Photos as PDF on iPhone and iPadBest iPhone Apps for Adding Text to Photos
