How to transfer photos from Mac to your iPhone or iPad

Learn how to transfer photos and videos from Mac to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

There are several ways to transfer photos and videos from your Mac to your iOS devices:

1. Using iCloud Photo Library is the easiest way to keep all your photos synced across all your Apple devices without doing anything.

To sync photos using iCloud Photo Library, you will need to turn on iCloud Photo Library on Mac and iPhone or iPad (you have to be signed in with the same Apple ID on all of your devices), have enough space to store your photos in iCloud storage (most likely 5GB free will not be enough) and have a Wi-Fi access.

To turn on iCloud Photo Library on your Mac, open System Preferences, go to iCloud, sign into iCloud using your Apple ID, click the Options button next to Photos and select iCloud Photo Library.

To turn on iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings, tap on your name at the top and sign into iCloud using your Apple ID. Then click the Options button next to Photos and select iCloud Photo Library.

2. If you need to transfer a few photos, you can wirelessly send them from your Mac to your iPhone and/or iPad using the AirDrop option. In this case, your Mac and iOS device will need to be connected to the same WiFi network. To send photos using AirDrop, make sure that both devices support it.

How to send photos from Mac to iPhone or iPad using AirDrop

On the Mac:
Open a Finder window and select AirDrop from the side menu.
Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, if they are off. If Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are on, AirDrop turns on automatically.
For the ‘Allow me to be discovered by’ option, select whether to receive items from everyone or only from people in your Contacts app.
The AirDrop window shows nearby AirDrop users. Make sure AirDrop on your iPhone or iPad is set to receive items from Everyone or from people in your Contacts app.
Drag the photos to the icon representing your iPhone or iPad in AirDrop and click Send.

On the iPhone or iPad:
Open Control Center and tap AirDrop.
Choose whether to receive items from Everyone or only from people in your Contacts app.
If you are transferring photos between the devices with the same Apple ID, you will just see a message about the incoming item. Otherwise, tap Accept on your iPhone or iPad to approve the transfer. You can find the photos you received in the Photos app.

3. You can also sync your photos manually with iTunes on your iMac, MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.