How Does iCloud Photos Work? Learn Features for iPhone, Mac, and Google Photos

How iCloud Photos Works?

iCloud Photos is a web-based storage service integrated into your iOS devices. iCloud Photos automatically stores your images and videos in iCloud, Apple's cloud storage service. In this way, you can easily access and view all your photos on all your Apple devices at any time, as long as you log in with the same Apple ID.

Additionally, any changes you make to your image library on one device will be automatically updated on all your other Apple devices. iCloud Photos stores your images and videos in their original high-resolution format in the cloud, but it allows you to choose original or optimized photos to be stored on local storage. This process is called storage optimization. iCloud Photos makes it easy to keep track of your image library anywhere, on any Apple device, as long as you're signed in to your Apple account.

Set Use iCloud Photos on iPhone 

To get started with iCloud Photos on your iPhone, you'll need to enable the feature in your Settings. 

Step 1. Open Settings: Tap on the Settings app on your iPhone's home screen.

Step 2. Tap on Photos: Scroll down and select the Photos option.

Step 3. Enable iCloud Photos: Turn on the "iCloud Photos" switch.

Step 4. Choose Storage Optimization: Select your preferred storage optimization option to manage your device's storage.

Step 5. Sync Photos: Your photos and videos will now start syncing to iCloud.

Set Up and Use iCloud Photos on Mac: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

1. Ensure You Have Enough iCloud Storage: Before starting, make sure you have enough iCloud storage for your entire photo library. By default, Apple provides 5GB of free storage, but you may need to upgrade to a paid plan for larger libraries.

• Go to "Apple Menu" > "System Settings" > "Apple ID" > "iCloud".
• Check how much iCloud storage you have left. If you need more, click "Manage" and upgrade to a higher storage plan.

2. Enable iCloud Photos on Your Mac: Now that you’ve ensured you have enough storage, it's time to enable iCloud Photos on your Mac.

• Open the "Photos" app on your Mac.
• In the top-left corner, click "Photos" in the menu bar, then select "Settings" (or "Preferences").
• Go to the "iCloud" tab. - Check the box for "iCloud Photos" to enable it.

3. Choose Storage Optimization Settings: iCloud Photos offers two storage options. You can either download original files to your Mac or optimize storage to save space by keeping full-resolution photos in the cloud.

After enabling iCloud Photos, you’ll see two options: 

• Download Originals to this Mac: Stores full-resolution versions of your photos and videos on your Mac. 
• "Optimize Mac Storage": Stores lower-resolution versions on your Mac to save space, with originals stored in iCloud. - Choose the one that best fits your needs.

 4. Sync Your Existing Photo Library to iCloud: Once enabled, iCloud Photos will begin uploading your entire photo and video library to iCloud. Depending on your internet speed and the size of your library, this process may take some time.

• Keep your Mac connected to power and Wi-Fi. Monitor progress by opening the "Photos" app.
• At the bottom, you’ll see the status of the upload process.

5. Access iCloud Photos Across Devices: Once your photos are uploaded, you can access them from any Apple device that is signed in to your iCloud account, including iPhone, iPad, and other Macs.

• On your iPhone or iPad, go to "Settings"> [your name] > "iCloud" > "Photos" and turn on "iCloud Photos".
• Your photos will now be synced and available across all your devices.

6. Create and Share Albums in iCloud Photos: iCloud Photos allows you to create shared albums that can be accessed by family and friends.

• Open the "Photos" app on your Mac. Select the "Albums" tab.
• Click the "+" icon, then choose "New Shared Album".
• Give your album a name, then add people you want to share it with by entering their email or phone number.
• Click "Create" and the album will be shared with those contacts.

iCloud Photos vs Google Photos: A Brief Comparison

While iCloud Photos and Google Photos are both popular cloud storage solutions for managing photos and videos, they have some key differences. iCloud Photos is tightly integrated with Apple's ecosystem and offers seamless syncing across all your Apple devices. Google Photos, on the other hand, is a more versatile platform that can be used with various devices and operating systems. 

Feature	iCloud Photos	Google Photos
Platform Integration	Deeply integrated with Apple ecosystem	Cross-platform compatibility (Android, iOS, web)
Storage	5GB free storage with additional iCloud plans	15GB free storage with additional Google One plans
Automatic Backup	Automatically backs up photos and videos from Apple devices	Automatically backs up photos and videos from supported devices
Face Recognition	Advanced face recognition for organizing photos	Face recognition for organizing photos
Shared Albums	Easy to create and share albums with others	Easy to create and share albums with others
Editing Tools	Basic editing tools available within the app	Advanced editing tools available within the app
Search Functionality	Powerful search features based on content, location, and more	Powerful search features based on content, location, and more
Offline Access	Download photos and videos for offline viewing	Download photos and videos for offline viewing
Price	Included with iCloud plans	Free with additional storage options available

Wanna make a switch between the both, for example, tranferring photos from iCloud Photos to Google Photos, or moving photos from Google Photos to iCloud Photos? Then try MultCloud. Trusted by over 3 million users, it is a multi-cloud management tool that facilitates the transfer or synchronization of files between various cloud services.

For example, it allows for seamless file transfers online among different cloud drives like Google Photos to iCloud Photos, or iCloud Photos to Google Photos without the need to download and then re-upload files manually. Moreover, MultCloud also enables you to access and manage all your cloud accounts via a single login and platform. By far, it supports about 40 different cloud services, including Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, Google Photos, iCloud Photos, FTP, WebDav, and more.