With iPhone, you can share photos among friends, family, and colleagues with just a few taps — no third-party software required. However, sharing a few photos is very different from sharing a lot of photos at once, and you may be concerned about doing this, for example, if you are transferring photos from an old iPhone to a new one such as (iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro).
How to transfer photos from one iPhone to another iPhone, or from an old iPhone to your new device
The process is nearly identical from iOS 14 to the latest iOS 16, so it should cover pretty much every active iPhone today.
It also works for sharing photos with a nearby iPad, if you want a nice big screen to show off your shots.
Transfer photos between iPhones via AirDrop
Apple AirDrop is a convenient way to send or receive photos from people near you, and it’s very easy to use.
Access Control Center by swiping up from the bottom of the screen (for iPhones with TouchID, like the iPhone SE) or down from the right corner of your phone (for iPhone X or later).
Step 1: Enable WiFi and Bluetooth on both phones and disable Personal Hotspot.
Select or tap and hold the network card (top left) in Control Center until it expands, then tap AirDrop Control to enable it.
Step 2: Select Contacts Only or Everyone.
Step 3: Launch the Photos app, select the desired photos, and then tap the Share icon.
Step 4: You will see the AirDrop icon as one of the many sharing options. select it.
Step 5: The resulting pane shows iPhones, other devices, or people nearby that have AirDrop enabled. Find and select that person’s phone or caller ID. The download pop-up screen appears.
Step 6: This person may be asked to accept or decline the download. Click accept, and the photo will be added to their Photos app.
Transfer photos from an old iPhone to a new iPhone via iCloud
Let’s say you have a new iPhone, and you want to transfer your existing photo collection to the new phone.
One way is to back up your iPhone, then restore the backup while you set up your new phone.
There are several ways to achieve this but the easiest is iCloud from Apple.
Using iCloud to transfer your photos wirelessly is the most foolproof method. You only get 5GB of free storage, so you may need to purchase additional storage if you have a lot of photos.
Keep in mind that if you have more than 5GB of photos on your phone, you might want to offload all of that size anyway, unless you need it for professional reasons.
Step 1: Launch Settings and select your name at the top.
Step 2: Tap on iCloud then Photos and make sure that Sync this iPhone is turned on.
Step 3: Sign in with the same Apple ID on your new iPhone and repeat the process: Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Photos, and switch to Sync this iPhone.
Step 4: Select Optimize iPhone Storage or Download and Keep Originals. The first option saves storage space.
Transfer photos via the macOS Finder
You can transfer all your photos and other data with a simple backup restore.
If you have a Mac with macOS Catalina or later up to the latest version of macOS Ventura, you can share photos from your old phone to your Mac, then upload them to your phone via the Finder app on your Mac.
Step 1: Connect your old iPhone to your Mac or MacBook via its cable.
Step 2: Open Finder by double-clicking the hard drive icon, and select your device from the left menu under Locations.
You may be asked to trust your new device on either your new Mac or iPhone. You can trust both of them.
Step 3: Under Backups choose Back up all the data on your iPhone to this Mac, then choose Back up now.
Step 4: Once done, disconnect your old iPhone and connect your new iPhone. Then choose Restore Backup.
Transfer photos via iTunes
Apple got rid of iTunes in 2019 with macOS Catalina. If you’re using macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or earlier—or you’re using a Windows PC—you can use iTunes to transfer your photos.
Before following the steps make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed.
Step 1: Connect your old iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes.
Step 2: Select your iPhone in iTunes and click Summary on the left panel.
Step 3: Click This PC under Backups in the left pane and then click Back up now.
Step 4: Turn on your new iPhone, and the iOS setup assistant will give you the option to restore from iTunes backup.
Step 5: Connect your new phone to your computer and open iTunes.
Step 6: Select your new iPhone in iTunes and click Summary in the left pane, then click Restore iPhone in the left pane.
Click OK.
Once the process is over, all of your photos will be on your new iPhone.