8 easy ways for transferring iPhone photos to your laptop
Looking to back up photos to your laptop to free up more storage space on your iPhone? Follow these simple steps to transfer iPhone photos to laptop the right way.
Robin Swift Updated on Jun 20, 2023 6:13 PM
Ever wish you can view and edit your photos on your laptop so you aren't restricted to a tiny iPhone screen? Or maybe you want to back up the valuable moments, but don't have enough storage on your iPhone. No matter which situation you are going through, transferring photos from iPhone to your laptop makes it easy to do that in a short time.
If you want to transfer iPhone photos, there are few limitations between Apple ecosystem. However, because of the completely different ecosystem, things get tricky when you want to transfer iPhone photos while using a Windows. In this post, we will cover some of best options to help you transfer photos from an iPhone to a laptop, no matter it is running Windows or macOS.
8 ways to import images between iPhone and laptop.
Transfer iPhone photos to laptop via:
Use Photos app to import images to Windows laptop
Microsoft's built-in service offers a handy way to view your pictures on laptop. The same photos can not only directly show up on laptop but also be transferred to laptop. However, you need to use a USB cord to plug your iPhone into the laptop—and this process of transferring don't need an internet available.
Firstly, connect your iPhone to the laptop via a USB cable. You may need to unlock your iPhone to proceed. If these is a message appearing on your iPhone asking you to trust this laptop or not. Choose Trust and then type in your lock screen password to authorize.
Once the laptop has been trusted, the Photos app will run on the laptop automatically, if not, open it in the start menu.
Next, hit on Import button with a downward arrow in the upper-right corner, followed by From a connected device.
Click on Import button to let all the photos display on the screen of your laptop.
A pop-up window named Import items will show up and all the photos from your iPhone will be displayed in front of you. Check the ones you want to share. Select a local folder that you want to save the photos to in the upper-left corner. Then click on Import X of X items to begin the process.
Select the photos that you want to transfer.
To remove the original photos from the iPhone, you can select "Delete the original items after import" in the lower-left corner of the window.
Use Windows AutoPlay to copy photos from iPhone to laptop
In the event that you have a Windows 7 laptop which doesn't have a Photos app, another method called AutoPlay may be worth considering to copy photos from iPhone to laptop. Same as Photos app, it will pop up automatically as soon as you connect the iPhone to your laptop.
1. Plug your iPhone into the laptop. Type in the passcode of your iPhone to allow it to access your laptop.
2. Click on the AutoPlay window that pops up automatically in the lower-right corner of your screen. Then you should see a list of what to do with this device. Choose Import photos and videos option with Photos beneath it.
3. A window named Import items should appear. Check the photos that you want to copy. Normally, they will be saved in the Pictures folder by default. You can also change destination in the upper-left corner of the window.
Also see: How to recover deleted photos from SD card
Move iPhone pictures to MacBook by Photos app
When you want to transfer photos from iPhone to MacBook, Photos app is always your first choice. And you might also have known that pictures can be easily transferred over a USB cord by Photos app. However, the truth is that the speed of this method is low. Anyway, if you have enough time to wait or the number of photos you want to transfer is small, you can also rely on Photos to finish the job.
Use the USB cord to connect your iPhone to the MacBook. If asked, tap on Trust button to trust this MacBook. The Photos app should launch itself automatically. If not, find it with Spotlight search and then let it run.
On the left side of the interface, click on your iPhone from the list of devices. All the pictures from your iPhone will be presented on the MacBook. Choose a folder to import your pictures to. You can click on Import X Selected to import selected items or Import All New Photos to import all the photos in the upper-right menu of the Photos app.
How to transfer photos from iPhone to laptop with iCloud
Apple offers its powerful service - iCloud, which is designed to store photos, files, and other data in the cloud. Apart from that, it also has a feature that allows you to easily export photos from iPhone to laptop. The only caveat is that you're only given 5 GB of free storage space and also you need to subscribe to iCloud + if you need more storage space and other features.
This method is not only available for macOS, but also for Windows.
you can download iPhone photos from iCloud on your laptop in 2 ways:
- Use iCloud Photos
- Use iCloud.com
We will take Windows as an example:
Use iCloud Photos
First of all, you'll want to enable iCloud Photos on your iPhone. Open settings, tap on Photos, then iCloud Photos. At this time, as soon as you add a photo to your iPhone, It will be uploaded to the cloud.
Next, install iCloud on your laptop. Sign in with your Apple ID. Check the button named Photos. Then click the option button that corresponds to Photos. Select the iCloud Photo Library option, followed by Download new photos and videos to my PC. Click Done and then click Apply.
To view the photos that have been downloaded with iCloud, open file explorer or windows explorer. Hit on This PC, you can see a drive named iCloud Photos. Double-click it to open it.
Use iCloud.com
For iCloud to work, it must be activated in settings, go to Settings >Photos >iCloud Photos. Now your photos will be updated to the cloud. Then open a browser on your laptop and visit icloud.com. Login with your Apple ID and password. Make sure both devices are logged into the same Apple ID. A six-digit PIN will be sent to your iPhone to get two-factor authorization. Enter it on your laptop.
Click on Photos in the interface. In the sidebar, you can access your photo library albums or media. Select the photos that you are going to send to laptop. Then click on the button that is like a cloud with a downward arrow to download selected pictures.
Finally, you can see the downloaded photos at the bottom of the browser. You can choose to have them displayed in the folder.
Get iPhone pictures to laptop using iPhone Data Transfer
If you're a creative person who takes lots of photos and videos, you may need a reliable place without the limitation of storage to sync pictures. Download iPhone Data Transfer, a simple yet powerful program that lets you seamlessly save and share pictures from iPhone to laptop in a few clicks.
iPhone Data Transfer is an all-in-one data transfer program that allows you to sync pictures from phone to laptop, laptop to phone, phone to phone. Besides photos, you can also deal with other types of data.
To start with, install iPhone Data Transfer on your laptop from the buttons below. Then, follow the steps to get iPhone pictures to laptop without complicated operations.
This method also works for MacBook, and this guide will take windows for example.
Step 1: Launch iPhone Data Transfer
On your laptop, download iPhone Data Transfer and install it. Let it run. You will be prompted to connect your iPhone to manage data. As soon as you plug iPhone into the laptop, the program will detect your iPhone and show you the information of your iPhone like the screenshot below.
iPhone Data Transfer will detect your iPhone.
Step 2: Check pictures from your iPhone
In the sidebar of the interface, hit on the Photos button. All the photos from your iPhone is being presented. You can check the pictures or click on Check All to transfer all the pictures. Of course, you can also choose pictures from the list the albums in the middle column.
Choose the pictures or albums to transfer.
Step 3: Select a folder
After you have finished checking the pictures, select a folder that they will be save to: hit on Export to PC button that seems like a computer. A pop-up window shows up prompting you to select a folder to which the pictures will be transferred.
Click on Export to PC to select a folder.
When you select a folder, you can also choose at the same time whether you want to convert the images to another format or not.
The transfer process does not take long. When the process is done, you can view the pictures in chronological order on your laptop.
Also see: How to transfer music from iTunes to iPhone without syncing
Import iPhone images via Google Photos
Google Photos is another photo manager letting you import iPhone images to the laptop. It is worth mentioning that every Google user gets 15 GB of free storage to start. That is to say, you can sync much more pictures for free when you need to transfer a large number of pictures.
However, please be noted that if you're transferring a lot of high-resolution images, it will quickly take up your free storage space. You may need to compress your images, especially if you don't want to pay for additional storage space.
This method will help regardless of whether you are using Windows or macOS.
When you are ready, start importing iPhone images from iPhone to laptop with the following steps:
Download Google Photos on your iPhone and launch it. If it is the first time for you to open it, you will be asked to allow the app to access to all photos. At the bottom of the interface, tap on Photos. All the photos will be displayed on screen. Press and hold one of these photos until the screen changes. Then you can check one picture or multiple pictures from your iPhone to import to laptop.
Tap on the icon with an upward arrow, followed by Share to button. Then select the Shared album button to create a new shared album. To make it easier to find, you can name this album. Last but not least, tap on Share in the upper-right corner.
Access Google Photos from a browser on your laptop. Login with the same account. All the pics that you imported will be displayed in the interface. Select them. Then click on the three dots in the upper-right corner and choose Download.
How to use This PC to move iPhone photos
Is it possible to move photos from iPhone to your laptop without using a program? Sure! Here we will introduce a way to you to copy photos from iPhone to laptop by using This PC. Please note that a USB cord is required and this method only works for Windows.
1. Use the USB cable to connect you iPhone to the laptop. If asked, type in your password to allow your iPhone to trust this laptop.
2. Open This PC. You should see a device named Apple iPhone under Devices and drives. Open it, all the photos from your phone are placed in different folders in chronological order.
3. Right-click the folder or the pictures that you would like to move and then click on Copy. You can paste the selected photos into any other folder you want on laptop.
Airdrop photos to MacBook
If you need a quicker and easier way to transfer photos between your iPhone and MacBook, look no further than this neat little trick——Airdrop. This feature uses Bluetooth technology to help you transfer iPhone photos over Wi-Fi to MacBook. Here's how to use Airdrop on iPhone to share pictures:
Open Photos app on your iPhone. Select the pictures that you're going to transfer. At the bottom of the screen, tap on the Share icon with an up arrow. A screen like the following screenshot will show up on your iPhone. Tap on Airdrop to move to the next step.
In the following list of users, choose your MacBook. A window will pop up on your MacBook asking you to decline or accept the photos from your iPhone. Choose Accept.
In the drop-down menu from Accept button, you can save the photos to downloads.
