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AmeliaAdams's avatar
AmeliaAdams
Iron Contributor
Apr 21, 2025

Fast and easy way to transfer photos from iphone to mac?

Hi everyone,

Long time Windows 7 user and new to Mac, and I've found that transferring photos from iPhone to computer using the built-in the Photos app or airdrop is a very bad experience, slow and often stuck. Especially when transferring hundreds of photos in batch, the waiting time is too long, and it's even more troublesome for Live Photo and video. I would like to ask you if there is a more efficient and stable way? For example, third-party tools or optimization techniques that can guarantee the original image quality and are easy to operate would be the best!

I've tried Image Capture, but the results are not very stable. If you have similar problems and solved them, I hope you can share your experience on how to transfer photos from iphone to mac , such as tool recommendations or system settings adjustment.

Thanks in advance! (System: macOS Sequoia, Device: iPhone 15 Pro Max & MacBook Pro M3)

 

7 Replies

  • When it comes to transferring photos from iPhone to Mac, OpenShot has some solid features, but there are definitely a few downsides to keep in mind based on my experience and what I’ve heard from others. While the interface is supposed to be intuitive, if you’re a newbie, it might still feel a bit overwhelming at first. You might find yourself clicking around trying to figure out how to get your photos onto your Mac. So, if you’re not tech-savvy, it could take a little trial and error to get the hang of things.

    The import speed can also be somewhat slow—definitely not lightning fast. If you’ve got a ton of photos to transfer, that can be a bit of a drag. I mean, who wants to sit around waiting for files to move over? Another potential hiccup is that while the batch renaming and metadata management features are handy, they might not be necessary for everyone. If you just want to quickly transfer photos from iPhone to Mac without messing around with settings, those features might just get in the way. 

    Lastly, even though it’s touted as being stable and completely local, you still have to deal with possible technical glitches or compatibility issues, especially if your MacOS is on the newer side and the software hasn't updated yet.

  • PrestonYork's avatar
    PrestonYork
    Iron Contributor

    Transferring photos from iPhone to Mac using the built-in Photos.app is definitely super convenient, but let's talk about speed. Honestly, if you're dealing with a massive photo library or a ton of videos, the transfer can feel like it’s dragging on. I’ve had moments where I’m just sitting there watching that progress bar inch forward like it’s taking a leisurely stroll. If you’re in a hurry or have a lot of high-res videos, you might want to look at other options that can do the job faster.

    Next, there's the whole organizational thing. When you import photos, they get stored in the Photos library, which is great for keeping everything tidy. But if you want to keep them organized in a specific way or have them in certain folders, you'll need to export them again later. That adds an extra step that can be a bit of a hassle, especially if you like to keep your files super organized.

    Another thing is that if your iPhone isn’t unlocked or is running an outdated version of iOS, when you transferring photos from iPhone to Mac, you’ll be stuck staring at “connect device” prompts. Make sure your phone's all set up before you start, or it'll just waste your time.

    Oh, and let’s not forget about compatibility. If your Mac isn’t up-to-date with macOS, you won’t have access to the latest features, and that might limit how smoothly everything goes. So, you might need to update your software, and nobody likes a long update process.

  • OpenShot interface is intuitive and powerful, the speed of importing photos is moderate, its batch renaming and metadata management features can save time, multi-language support is good, completely local and high stability. Compared with other iphone transfer software, it provides more management options, but the first time users need to familiarize themselves with the interface for the first time in order to transfer photos from iphone to Mac and this is suitable for batch organizing the needs of users. You can give it a try if other methods did not work.

    Prepare to connect your iPhone
    1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac with an MFi-certified Lightning cable.
    2. iPhone prompts Trust this computer, tap Trust and enter your password.
    3. The Mac prompts to allow the accessory to connect, tap Allow.

    Import photos to OpenShot
    1. Open Open OpenShot and tap File > Import File.
    2. Select iPhone in the Finder window and go to the DCIM folder to pick photos or videos.
    3. You can press Command key to select more than one, or Shift key to select consecutive ranges, tap Open when you are done, and the imported files will appear in the Project Files panel.

    Organize the photos
    1. Right-click a photo in the Project Files panel, select Properties, View/Change Metadata, Rename, and enter the name you want.
    2. You can also tap Filter - Organize by Date or Organize by Name.
    3. Right-click on multiple selected files to rename them and batch rename them according to the rules.

    Save to Mac
    1. Drag the photos you want to save to the Timeline.
    2. Tap File>Export Video, in the pop-up window: select JPEG or MOV in All Formats.
    3. Select the save folder on Mac; check Export selected files only, and finally tap Export to transfer iPhone photos to Mac automatically!

  • If you want to protect your privacy, you can utilize iCloud Photos, Apple's official cloud service. iCloud Photos is a full-featured, browser-based service that allows you to transfer iPhone photos to Mac and then download them in your Mac browser. The operation is intuitive, wireless transmission without data cable, compatible with related devices, secure and encrypted, in line with the privacy requirements, the following two parts of the introduction of the use of methods.

    On iPhone:

    1. Connect to Wi-Fi, make sure you are running iOS 12 and above, sign in to Apple ID, check iCloud space, turn on iCloud photos.

    2. Make sure the photos are local, upload them automatically when you turn on the function, choose storage mode in Settings - Photos, check the progress in Settings - General - iPhone Storage.

    3. Delete photos that have been uploaded and backed up to Mac, optimize local storage.

    On Mac:

    1. Connect to Wi-Fi, run macOS 10.14 and above, install Safari or Chrome, sign in with the same Apple ID as your iPhone.

    2. Go to iCloud page in your browser, sign in and click the Photos icon.

    3. You can select all photos (Command + A) or single-select or multiple-select (Command key assisted), tap the Download button to select the save path and then save it, and look at the progress bar at the bottom of the browser.

    4. Confirm photos and videos in Finder save path, check naming and integrity, can be organized as needed.

    5. Delete photos on the webpage when iCloud space is insufficient, log out at the top right corner of the webpage and close the browser after operation.

    As you can see, this is a very simple way to let you transfer photos from iPhone to Mac or Windows PC. However, you need to have enough iCloud storage and it takes more time for uploading and downloading the photos.

  • Transferring photos from iPhone to Mac can sometimes be tricky, especially with large batches. Here are several alternative methods and tools to help ensure a smooth and efficient transfer while maintaining image quality:

    1. Use Image Capture Correctly
    Although you mentioned using Image Capture, make sure you are utilizing it properly:

    1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac using a USB cable.
    2. Open Image Capture, select your iPhone from the devices list.
    3. Choose the option to transfer all or selected images and specify a destination folder.
    4. Make sure to select the option for "Import All".

    This method should avoid some of the issues commonly faced with other applications.

    2. Mac Photos App
    If you haven't already, try the following with the Photos app for transfering photos from iPhone to Mac:

    1. Open the Photos app on your Mac.
    2. Connect your iPhone with a USB cable.
    3. Your iPhone should appear in the sidebar.
    4. Select your device and choose the photos you want to import. The Photos app can handle videos and Live Photos fairly well.
  • JaydenTaylor's avatar
    JaydenTaylor
    Iron Contributor

    If you don't want to download other software, you can use the built-in Photos.app on macOS to bulk transfer photos from iPhone to Mac. After connecting your iPhone with USB, you can import photos and videos from iPhone to Mac through an intuitive graphical interface and clicking operation, and then automatically organize them and store them in the Mac photo library, and it's the first choice of built-in tool for transferring iPhone photos. It works with all macOS versions and is the preferred built-in tool for transferring iPhone photos.

    To transfer photos from iPhone to Mac, please make sure your iPhone is unlocked and running the latest version of iOS (or at least iOS 12), and your Mac is running macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or later.

    The Photos.app, in which you can choose to import all photos and videos on iPhone or selectively, after importing, you can manage photos in "Photos" or "Recent Import" tab, follow the prompts to choose whether to delete the imported items on iPhone or not, and you can also right-click the photos to check the storage location in Photos.app. You can also right-click photos in Photos.app to see where they are stored, then verify the transfer in Photos.app and Finder, and finally disconnect the Lightning cable safely by clicking the eject button next to the iPhone icon on the left sidebar of Photos.app.

    In short, the Photos.app has a modern interface, intuitive point-and-click operation, high stability as a built-in macOS software that requires no installation and easy to get started for newbies, although photos stored in the Photos library need to be manually exported to other folders, it is easy to operate. However, the transfer speed is quite slow when comparing to other apps. If you want to a fast way to transfer iphone photos to Mac, then you can try other methods instead.

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