There are two different ways you can get your photos from your iPhone to your Mac. The first is the manual way–downloading them directly to your Mac. Specifically, the Photos app in macOS. The Photos app on macOS is the default photos storage app on the Mac. Import photos from an iPhone or iPad to a Mac using Photos 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. Access iPhone photos on Mac without iTunes for free, including Camera Roll and Photo Stream.; Photos can be displayed according to added date or albums. Transfer photos, or the full album (not just photos) from iPhone to Mac or external hard drive without iTunes, selectively in bulk or all at once.
How to download photos and videos from iCloud.com
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.
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
- On iCloud.com, tap Photos.
- Tap Select, then tap a photo or video. To select multiple photos or videos, tap more than one. To select your entire library, tap Select All.
- Tap the more button .
- Choose Download, then tap Download to confirm.
If your photos download as a ZIP archive, learn how to uncompress the folder on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
On your Mac or PC
- On iCloud.com, click Photos and select a photo or video. Hold the command key on your Mac or control key on your PC to select multiple photos or videos.
- Click and hold the download button in the upper corner of the window. If you want to download your photo or video as it was originally captured or imported, choose Unmodified Original. For JPEG or H.264 format — including edits, and even if it was originally in HEIF or HEVC format — choose Most Compatible.*
- Click Download.
If your photos download as a ZIP archive, learn how to uncompress the folder on your Mac or your PC.
What happens when you delete photos or videos
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.
How to download photos and videos from the Photos app
If you want to download a full-size 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.
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
- Go to Settings > [your name].
- Tap iCloud, then tap Photos.
- Select Download and Keep Originals.
On your Mac
- Open the Photos app.
- Choose Photos > Preferences.
- Select iCloud, then click Download Originals to this Mac.
On your PC
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.
How to download photos and videos from Shared Albums
You can download copies of photos and videos in Shared Albums to your own library. Learn more about how to use Shared Albums.
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
- Open the Photos app, then go to the Albums tab.
- Scroll down to Shared Albums and select an album.
- Tap the photo or video, then tap .
- Choose Save Image or Save Video.
On your Mac
- Open Photos, then select a Shared Album from the left-hand menu.
- Select the photo or video.
- Control-click a photo, then choose Import.
On your PC
In iCloud for Windows 11.1:
- Choose Start menu > iCloud Shared Albums.
- Double-click the shared album that you want to download photos or videos from.
- Double-click a photo or video, then copy it to another folder on your computer.
In iCloud for Windows 7.x:
- Open a Windows Explorer window.
- Click iCloud Photos in the Navigation pane.
- Double-click the Shared folder.
- Double-click the shared album that you want to download photos or videos from.
- Double-click a photo or video, then copy it to another folder on your computer.
To download the full album, open a File Explorer window or Windows Explorer window (Windows 7), open the Pictures folder, then open the iCloud Photos folder. Copy the Shared Album folder to another location on your computer.
If you need help downloading your photos or videos
- Make sure your device is not on Low Power Mode. Low Power Mode temporarily pauses iCloud Photos. Learn more about Low Power Mode.
- Depending on your internet connection and the number of photos you're downloading, it may take some time for your download to complete.
- Want to make a backup of your photos? Learn how to archive or make copies of the information you store in iCloud.
- See how to transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac or PC.
- Learn how to manage your iCloud storage.
There are two significant effects to transfer taken photos to a computer: one is for backup in case of data lost; another is to save more storage on your phone as photos usually are bigger than other files. If you are using an Android smartphone or tablet, then you can easily transfer photos from Android to a comuter via USB cable. Unlinke Android devices, Apple makes its extremely hard to transfer content from iPhone to computer. If you are new to iPhone and owns a Mac, then it would take hours to figure out how to transfer your precious photos to a Mac.
However, when you landed on this page, then there is no need to worry about that anymore. We are here to provide 3 different ways to help you transfer iPhone pictures to a Mac. Each method offers a different perspective and use different tools to achieve the same purpose. It's your own choice to go with which one.
Supported iDevice: iPhone XS Max/XS/XR, iPhone 8/8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone 7/7 Plus, iPhone 6S/6/5S/4S, iPod Touch, iPad Mini and iPad Air
Method 1: Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac with iPhoto
iPhoto is default photo apps on Mac and iPhone. It can also be used for photos transfers. We will go through the steps below:
Step 1: Connect your iPhone to your Mac via USB cable.
Step 2: Open iPhoto App on your Mac. Usually, this would be opened automatically when you used the app before.
Download Pictures From Iphone To Mac Without Iphoto
Step 3: iPhoto starts to scan and load photos on your iPhone. Select the photos and click Import Selected. After that, iPhone asks you to delete those photos from iPhone or keep the photos. It's your own choice. However, when the photos imported, you don't know whether the photos are stored on which folder.
Method 2: Transfer iPhone Photos to Mac Wirelessly with AirDrop
Download Pictures From Iphone Messages
AirDrop is a new wireless transfer features publicly released in WWDC 2013. You can use AirDrop to transfer photos, location and text between your iPhone and Mac. However, there are limitaions for the device which uses this service. iOS should be 5.0+ and Mac OS X should 10.0+. If your device is quite old, then select the other two methods instead. Below is the step by step tutorial for AirDrop.
Step 1: Open Photos app on your iPhone.
Step 2:Choose the photos you wish to transfer to the Mac. Then tap the share icon from the botton of the screen.
Step 3: Select your computer form the device list. All the selected photos will be transferred to your Mac wireless in a few minutes.
Method 3: Direclty Transfer Photos from iPhone to Mac with iPhone Transfer
iPhone Transfer is a third-party app designed for iPhone users who want to move them content between iPhone and Mac more freely. Actually, there is no limition on using this program and you can not only transfer photos, but also for text messages, contacts, music, video and ebooks. What your need is an USB cable. This is the ultimate program regarding data transfer for iPhone and it's the one that I can't live without. It runs much simple and fast then the above two methods. Flexibility is the my favorite part of the app. Check out how it works:
Step 1 Install iPhone Transfer and Connect Your iPhone to Mac
Unlike the above two methods, this works on both Windows and Mac. If you were on a Mac, then download the Mac versionof the program and install it on your computer. When installation is finished, launch the app from Launchpad. Then plug your iPhone to Mac via the USB cable. The main screen of iPhone Transfer is shown as the following:
Note: iPhone Transfer offers three transfer options, which allows user to transfer items from iDevices 'To iTunes', 'To Mac Computer' and 'To iDevices'.
Step 2 Select Photos You Wish to Transfer
![Download pics from iphone to macbook Download pics from iphone to macbook](/uploads/1/1/8/6/118626144/294889006.jpg)
It takes a few seconds to let the app scan and analyze your iPhone. After that, it will list all the files into groups as you can see from the sidebar. Click on Photos category, then you can preview all the photos.
Step 3 Start to Export Photos to Computer
Select the photos you want to transfer to Mac. Then Click Export to button on the menu bar. Select a local folder on your Mac to store the photos. Once being backed up to local drive, you can open and view the content on a computer or move to other iOS device.
Generally speaking, transferring pictures from iPhone to Computer is not that difficult as you can see from the above tutorials. You are absolutely free to choose the method you prefer. As for me, I'd love to use iPhone Transfer because it works on both Windows and Mac and it has various transfer options, such as contacts, text messages, which wouldn't be done with iTunes or AirDrop. If you backs up your iPhone frequently, then iPhone Transfer is the app you should have a try. It's a lightweight solution that's much easier than using iTunes.