Unfortunately, Apple somehow made a huge blunder of not making it easy for their consumers to transfer photos and videos from their mobile devices to their Macs. This is uncharacteristic of a company whose dedication to user convenience is at an all-time high.
Rants aside, not everybody knows how to seamlessly transfer photos from their iPhones to their Macs. Even long-time iPhone and Mac users have no idea how to do this. Well, we can’t blame them: Apple failed to simplify the whole process. Yikes.
So, let’s clear things up and definitively find out how to transfer photos and videos your handheld devices to your Macs:
First, pick a destination
Your first course of action is to decide where to place your photos. You have two choices: the iCloud Photo Library or your Mac. Saving them on the iCloud Library will of course make the multimedia files available on all devices (as long as you’re connected to it). Do so on your Mac will only enable you to store them locally.
In this entry however, we will be solely focusing on saving your photos on your Mac.
Importing photos to your Mac
When transferring your multimedia files to your Mac, you will be using the Photos for OS X app. It’s important to take note that this procedure can also be used to transfer images from digital cameras and SD cards. Here’s the whole procedure:
Step #1
First, you have to connect your mobile device to your Mac with a USB cable or a Lightning connector. Note that it’s highly recommended to exclusively use an Apple cord. It might be a tad expensive, but hey, better safe than sorry.
Step #2
Next, you could then be required to unlock your iOS device via your passcode. Moreover, you will also see a prompt in your iOS device asking you to Trust This Computer. Basically, you will be giving authority to the Mac to sync with your iOS device. By doing so, you will be allowing it to create backups and access your device’s files and other content.
To move forward, simply tap “Trust” and you will be good to go.
Step #3
Back to your Mac.
After you’ve connected both devices, the Photos app will launch automatically, along with iTunes. If it doesn’t you can manually launch Photos.
Step #4
After the app is launched, it will then show the Import screen. With that said, it will then show all of the photos and videos which are stored on the connected device. If you aren’t automatically led to it, you can simply click on the Import tab located at the top of the Photos app or on the device’s name and icon on the sidebar.
Step #5
You can now start importing your photos.
To do so, simply click on the ones you want, and then click Import Selected. If you’re planning to import newly-saved photos on your device to your Mac, simply click Import All New Photos to save time and let the devices work their magic.
Step #6
After the transfer is completed, you will then have the option to delete your photos on the device or to keep them. If you’re looking to save some space click Delete. If you want to keep them on the device, simply click on Keep.
And you’re done! Remember though, be sure to safely eject your device before pulling off the USB cord or Lightning connector. People usually overlook this process, and it results into lost and corrupt data. Though Apple devices are less likely to experience this problem, this step is crucial for USB and SD card users.
It’s also important to take note that the photos you sync from your computer to your iOS device via iTunes can’t be imported back to your computer.
Used the guide? Please tell us your experience in the comments!
