The Best Method: iCloud

The fastest and easiest way to transfer your photos from one iPhone to another is via iCloud. This is also the best way to make sure your photos are safely backed up. There is one caveat – it only comes with 5GB of storage, which can be easily filled up. That warning aside, to get started with iCloud photo backup:

  1. Launch the Settings app and tap on your name at the top.
  2. Open “iCloud -> Photos” and make sure that iCloud Photos is enabled at the top.
  3. Log in to the new iPhone with your existing Apple ID and repeat the same process. You have two options with this. The first is to save storage space by turning on “Optimize iPhone Storage” or “Download and Keep Originals.” The second is if you do not have enough iCloud storage available, Apple will prompt you to upgrade. Assuming you have enough storage available, photos will begin showing up wirelessly. Depending on how many photos you have, it can take up to a few hours for everything to populate. Alternatively, you can also do an iCloud backup on the older iPhone and then choose to “Restore from iCloud Backup” on the new iPhone. This method will ensure that any photos stored on the other phone will automatically carry over to a new iPhone.

Using AirDrop

AirDrop allows you to easily share files between your Apple devices. The first step is to make sure AirDrop is enabled on both iPhones. To do that, go to “Settings -> General -> AirDrop” and activate for either “Everyone” or “Contacts Only.” After AirDrop is activated, go to the Photos app and head to a gallery or photo album.

  1. Start choosing which photos you want to transfer to a new device. You can do that by tapping on “Select” at the top of the album or gallery and then selecting the photos you want to transfer. Each photo that is selected will have a blue checkmark on it.
  2. When you have checked off all of the photos you want to transfer, click on the “Share Sheet” at the bottom left of the screen. This looks like a square with an arrow pointing up out of it.
  3. The AirDrop button should appear in the Share Sheet underneath your favorite contacts. The icon looks like concentric blue circles with a white icon at the bottom. Tap it after you locate it. Look for the name of the iPhone you wish to share with. Tap on it and hit “Accept” on the new iPhone to start the transfer. Transfer time will vary and depends on how many photos or videos you are transferring at once. The more you share, the longer it will take to download. Each photo will automatically go into your general photo album.

Using Cloud Storage

If you find iCloud storage space too limiting, you can make use of a different cloud service. Any of the popular cloud services like Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive will work. All you have to do is download the app of your choice and back up all your photos to the app. Nearly every cloud storage app will have an option to upload your photo album to its servers for “cloud” storage backup. Dropbox in particular is very popular and does a great job of backing up photos. To turn on camera uploads, download the Dropbox app and tap on the account icon in the bottom right. Look for “Camera Uploads” and toggle to “On.” Finally, tap on upload and wait for the upload to finish. Once the upload has completed, download Dropbox on the new iPhone and download any of the photos you want to save natively on your iPhone.

Create a Shared Album

Another iCloud method is to create a shared album. This is a popular method to share photos with a group of people but can also be used to share with another iPhone. To get started:

  1. Open the Photos app and select all of the photos you want to share with a new iPhone. Once you have selected the photos, tap on the “Share Sheet” button and scroll a little until you see “Add to Shared Album.”
  2. The Photos app will then “upload” each photo into an album. This may take a minute or two depending on how many photos you are trying to share. Once it finishes uploading, it will ask you to enter a comment if you want.
  3. Next, you can choose who you want to share the album with. Enter your contact info or any contact info that is available on the new device. (Email would be best.) An iCloud album link will be sent to the email address.
  4. Open the link and download the photos. They will automatically save directly to your Photos app. With the above methods, transferring your photos from iPhone to iPhone should no longer be a frightening prospect. The next thing you may want to do is edit your photos on your iPhone so they look great when shared with others.