Navigating iCloud Photos Across iPhone and iPad

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Level 1

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Navigating iCloud Photos Across iPhone and iPad

I have upgraded my iCloud plan and have enabled iCloud Photos on my iPhone and iPad. The iPhone has finally uploaded all pictures to the Cloud and my iPad is nearly finished doing so. My understanding is that now all photos on either device will show up in the Cloud and are now available on both devices. I also selected "Optimize iPhone (and iPad) Storage" on my devices.

I have a few questions.

Are the photos now on my iPhone and iPad still their original resolution?
Somehow I should be able to access ALL the photos from iCloud. But, how do I do this? The number of photos showing on my iPad, for instance, does not appear to have changed although I had thousands more on my iPhone.
Going forward, will my all future pictures I take with my iPhone or perhaps download on my iPad automatically be synced with iCloud?
If, in order to optimize space on my iPhone, a lower resolution image is kept on my iPhone while the higher resolution image is in iCloud, how do I access the higher resolution image?

Thanks for anyone who can address these questions! I am trying to be proactive as Photo Stream goes away shortly!

iPhone XR, iOS 16

Posted on Jun 28, 2023 9:43 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Mac Jim ID

Level 7

26,459 points

Jun 29, 2023 7:33 AM in response to NoBite

To answer the first and last question:

Are the photos now on my iPhone and iPad still their original resolution? Probably not. The system will manage the photo size stored depending on its needs and space available. You may be viewing a full resolution photo one day, but later it could be replaced with the lower resolution one at any time.
How do I access the higher resolution image? While there is no button to tap that downloads the full resolution photo, if you zoom in on the photo or tap the Edit button, the system will download a higher resolution photo. You have no control over how long that higher resolution photo stays on your system.

If you have storage space on your iPhone and your iCloud Photo storage is not too large, then the Keep Original option may be better for keeping the high resolution photos.

Things to Consider before using Optimise … - Apple Community

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Answer 2

NoBite Author

Level 1

46 points

Jun 29, 2023 6:58 AM in response to NoBite

Point #2 above has resolved itself! Now that all photos have uploaded to the iCloud from the iPhone and iPad, all the photos are on both devices. 👍

I'm guessing that the answer to Point #3 above is Yes.

The first and last questions above still remain. Anyone know the answers? Thanks!

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Answer 3

NoBite Author

Level 1

46 points

Jun 29, 2023 9:51 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

THANK YOU! I'm still trying to get the hang of this. Your replies help a LOT. There are probably not a lot of times that I will need the original resolution photo. But, it is good to know how to get it. If I wanted prints of a photo, then I can get it, for instance.

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Answer 4

Mac Jim ID

Level 7

26,459 points

Jun 29, 2023 1:57 PM in response to NoBite

No Problem. Printing is another time when the full resolution photo will be downloaded and used as long as you have an internet connection and space on your device. The system does a pretty good job of managing the high resolution photos when you need them as long as an internet connection is available.

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Navigating iCloud Photos Across iPhone and iPad

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