Transferring iPhone photos and videos to your Mac can save precious space on your mobile device. Plus, information technology's easier to edit and retouch when y'all'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 4 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 ecosystem, there are multiple ways to connect them and motion content around. Some involve using a USB cable, others piece of work wirelessly. These methods have proven the handiest in our experience:

  1. Sync photos to your Mac using Finder (macOS Catalina or later)
  2. Move 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 most all these in more than detail.

Before you lot transfer your iPhone pictures to the Mac

Although Macs accept more storage than iPhones, that storage is not infinite, so you lot might want to avert 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 tin can add up to a few gigabytes.

So before yous start the transfer, scan your iPhone pics with Gemini Photos: Gallery Cleaner. This app will notice all the ataxia you've accumulated over the years, such every bit similar shots and blurry photos, and help you delete them in no time.

Now that you've done that, hither are our top ways to transfer photos and videos.

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

The most common means to transfer pictures from your iPhone to your Mac involve connecting your devices with a USB cable. But even and so, you have options depending on which application you desire to use. Below you'll read about four different apps that will help you sync your photos.

Move photos from iPhone to Mac using Finder

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:

  1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cable.
  2. On the Mac, open up a new Finder window.
  3. In the sidebar, under your Devices, click on your iPhone.
  4. At the elevation of the window, click Photos.
  5. Check the "Sync Photos" box.
  6. Choose the app or folder that you want to sync from.
  7. Cull to sync all photos and albums or just selected albums.
  8. Click Apply.

How to transfer photos from iPhone to computer with AnyTrans

iCloud and Photos are obvious choices for image transferring, only they're not without flaws. If you want to transfer all content from your iPhone without having to wait forever, and dorsum information technology up at the aforementioned time, a 3rd-party utility like AnyTrans for iOS makes much more sense.

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

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

Your content volition travel instantly. What's more, it will sync to iCloud — and 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 you use to charge the iPhone into one of your Mac's USB ports. When an iPhone is continued, the macOS Photos app automatically opens and suggests importing your photos. Here's the import procedure, stride past stride.

  1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac using a Lightning-to-USB cable
  2. If needed, unlock your iPhone and ostend information technology trusts the device
  3. The Photos app should load and testify you the images from your iPhone in the main window. If that doesn't happen, select your iPhone from the left-hand menu in the Photos app. Now you lot'll run across all of the images and videos stored in your iPhone'southward Camera Roll.
  4. Click Import All New Items in the top right-hand corner, or go through the photos, select the ones you want to import, and click Import Selected

Once the import is complete, you tin ask Photos to automatically delete the pics on your iPhone, giving you infinite to start over again and take even more pictures.

Upload photos from iPhone to Mac using Image Capture

Another method for transferring your pictures from iPhone to Mac is with the Paradigm Capture app, which comes past 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 Image Capture.
  3. In the sidebar, select your iPhone under the Devices category.
  4. At the lesser of the window, click the Import To bill of fare to choose where to salve your pictures.
  5. Select the pictures you desire to import and click the Import push button or click Import All.

How to transfer photos from an iPhone to a Mac wirelessly

If yous don't have a USB cable nearby, don't worry. Y'all can notwithstanding ship pics from your phone wirelessly. And even if you have a cable close, you might desire to endeavor one of these methods to relieve you the hassle of plugging your iPhone into your computer.

Ship photos from iPhone to Mac using AirDrop

If you demand to movement just a few of your images over to your Mac, the quickest way to do that is by using AirDrop.

First past switching AirDrop on your iPhone.

  1. Get to Settings
  2. Tap General
  3. Ringlet to AirDrop
  4. Set this to Everyone to transport data via AirDrop to any device

Now switch information technology on on your Mac:

  1. Open Finder
  2. Click Go in the menu bar and select AirDrop
  3. A Finder window volition open, with the AirDrop icon at the bottom. It looks like an old-fashioned set of blue radio waves
  4. Below this icon is a dropdown. Click on it and select Everyone.

Give both devices a few moments to find one another.

At present, here'southward how you transfer photos from your iPhone to your Mac with AirDrop:

  1. Open Photos on your iPhone
  2. Select the pics you want to transfer
  3. Tap the sharing push in the lesser left-hand corner
  4. Look till AirDrop finds your Mac and tap on it
  5. On your Mac you'll see a popular-up window asking you to accept the photos. Click Have.

Depending on your Mac's settings, yous may exist asked where you want to save the photos. Once you're washed transferring, you 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 Photograph Library, a.grand.a. iCloud Photos, can practice all the heavy lifting. However, if you've got over 5GB of photos and videos, y'all'll need to upgrade your storage program, 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:

  1. Go to Settings

  2. Tap on your name at the height

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

At present, to set information technology up on your Mac:

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

Provided you've followed both serial of steps and both your devices are using the same Apple tree ID, your photos and videos will automatically sync between iPhone and Mac.

Call up: while you have iCloud Photo Library on, any changes you make to photos on ane device volition automatically sync to the other. And then if you lot want to delete them on your iPhone and go on them on your Mac, switch off the sync after you've transferred everything.

Whichever method you use, Apple tree makes information technology easy to transfer photos and videos from an iPhone to a Mac. Just make sure you motility the pics you really need, otherwise you're merely shuffling clutter effectually.