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 commodity, nosotros'll cover the four quickest ways to transfer your images over.

The best ways to transfer photos from an iPhone to a Mac

Because iPhone and Mac are parts of the Apple tree ecosystem, there are multiple ways to connect them and movement content around. Some involve using a USB cable, others work wirelessly. These methods have proven the handiest in our experience:

  1. Sync photos to your Mac using Finder (macOS Catalina or later)
  2. Motion photos and other content with AnyTrans
  3. Import pictures to the Photos app
  4. Upload photos using ImageCapture
  5. AirDrop photos from iPhone to a Mac
  6. Transfer photos using iCloud

Let's talk about all these in more than detail.

Before y'all transfer your iPhone pictures to the Mac

Although Macs accept more storage than iPhones, that storage is not infinite, and so y'all might desire to avert dumping thousands of unneeded pics onto your Mac. Nosotros're talking blurry party selfies, multiple shots of the same sunset, taken only seconds autonomously, long-forgotten screenshots of long-forgotten conversations — those can add together upwards to a few gigabytes.

So before y'all outset the transfer, scan your iPhone pics with Gemini Photos: Gallery Cleaner. This app will discover all the ataxia you've accumulated over the years, such as like shots and blurry photos, and aid you delete them in no fourth dimension.

At present that you've washed that, here are our tiptop ways to transfer photos and videos.

How to import photos from an iPhone to a Mac with a USB cable

The about common ways to transfer pictures from your iPhone to your Mac involve connecting your devices with a USB cable. But even and so, you accept options depending on which awarding yous want to utilize. Beneath you'll read nigh four different apps that volition help you sync your photos.

Motion photos from iPhone to Mac using Finder

Starting with macOS Catalina (x.xv) or later, yous tin sync your iPhone with a Mac using Finder. Follow these steps to sync photos from your iPhone to your Mac:

  1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cable.
  2. On the Mac, open a new Finder window.
  3. In the sidebar, under your Devices, click on your iPhone.
  4. At the top of the window, click Photos.
  5. Bank check the "Sync Photos" box.
  6. Cull the app or binder that you desire to sync from.
  7. Cull to sync all photos and albums or just selected albums.
  8. Click Utilise.

How to transfer photos from iPhone to computer with AnyTrans

iCloud and Photos are obvious choices for epitome 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 than sense.

A combination of a backup tool and media downloader, AnyTrans helps you lot migrate content. Here's how you lot use it to motion photos and everything else from your iPhone:

  1. Launch AnyTrans and ensure both your devices are connected to the aforementioned network.
  2. Connect iPhone to your Mac's USB port.
  3. Allow AnyTrans access to your photo library.
  4. Go to Device Manager > Export iPhone content to computer.

Your content will travel instantly. What'southward more than, it volition sync to iCloud — so in that location's no need to worry your photos don't have a backup.

Import photos from an iPhone to a Mac using Photos

One of the quickest methods is to plug the Lightning-to-USB cable y'all utilise to charge the iPhone into ane 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, footstep past step.

  1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac using a Lightning-to-USB cable
  2. If needed, unlock your iPhone and confirm information technology trusts the device
  3. The Photos app should load and show y'all the images from your iPhone in the chief window. If that doesn't happen, select your iPhone from the left-hand menu in the Photos app. Now you'll see all of the images and videos stored in your iPhone'southward Photographic camera Roll.
  4. Click Import All New Items in the summit right-mitt corner, or go through the photos, select the ones you desire to import, and click Import Selected

Once the import is consummate, you tin can ask Photos to automatically delete the pics on your iPhone, giving you space to starting time again and have even more than pictures.

Upload photos from iPhone to Mac using Image Capture

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:

  1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cablevision.
  2. On your Mac, open Prototype Capture.
  3. In the sidebar, select your iPhone under the Devices category.
  4. At the bottom of the window, click the Import To carte to choose where to save your pictures.
  5. Select the pictures y'all want to import and click the Import push or click Import All.

How to transfer photos from an iPhone to a Mac wirelessly

If yous don't have a USB cablevision nearby, don't worry. You tin can still transport pics from your phone wirelessly. And even if you lot have a cable close, you might want to try 1 of these methods to salve you the hassle of plugging your iPhone into your estimator.

Send photos from iPhone to Mac using AirDrop

If you need to motion merely a few of your images over to your Mac, the quickest way to do that is by using AirDrop.

Start past switching AirDrop on your iPhone.

  1. Get to Settings
  2. Tap General
  3. Curl to AirDrop
  4. Set this to Everyone to ship data via AirDrop to whatever device

At present switch it on on your Mac:

  1. Open up Finder
  2. Click Get in the menu bar and select AirDrop
  3. A Finder window will open up, with the AirDrop icon at the bottom. It looks similar an old-fashioned gear up of bluish radio waves
  4. Beneath this icon is a dropdown. Click on it and select Anybody.

Give both devices a few moments to notice one another.

Now, hither'southward how you transfer photos from your iPhone to your Mac with AirDrop:

  1. Open Photos on your iPhone
  2. Select the pics y'all want to transfer
  3. Tap the sharing button in the bottom left-hand corner
  4. Expect till AirDrop finds your Mac and tap on it
  5. On your Mac you'll run into a pop-up window asking yous to accept the photos. Click Accept.

Depending on your Mac's settings, you may be asked where you want to relieve the photos. Once y'all're done transferring, you tin can switch off AirDrop on your Mac and iPhone.

Sync photos from an iPhone to a Mac using iCloud

Another way to motion photos from an iPhone to a Mac is with iCloud. iCloud Photo Library, a.k.a. iCloud Photos, can do all the heavy lifting. All the same, if you've got over 5GB of photos and videos, you'll demand to upgrade your storage plan, paying anything from $0.99 per calendar month for 50GB to $9.99 for 2TB of cloud storage.

To set iCloud Photograph Library on your iPhone, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings

  2. Tap on your proper noun at the top

  3. Go to iCloud
  4. Underneath the iCloud storage indicator, you'll see a listing of Apps Using iCloud
  5. Tap on Photos
  6. Switch on iCloud Photos

Now, to gear up it up on your Mac:

  1. Launch the Photos app
  2. Become to the Photos menu in the card bar
  3. Click on Preferences
  4. Adjacent, click on iCloud
  5. Check the box adjacent to iCloud Photograph Library (iCloud Photos in macOS Mojave)

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 betwixt iPhone and Mac.

Call up: while you have iCloud Photo Library on, any changes you brand to photos on one device will automatically sync to the other. And so if you desire to delete them on your iPhone and go along them on your Mac, switch off the sync after yous've transferred everything.

Whichever method you employ, Apple makes information technology easy to transfer photos and videos from an iPhone to a Mac. Just brand certain you move the pics you really need, otherwise you're just shuffling clutter around.