How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to MacBook Pro M1

Most iPhone users will find that Photos tend to take up most of the storage, especially when they don’t purchase any iCould storage plan. Therefore, moving pictures and videos to a Mac seems like a great solution to free up some space. But, how you can move data from your phone to new Macs like the M1 MacBook Pro? No worries, here is our guide on how to transfer photos from iPhone to MacBook Pro M1.

Import Photos from iPhone to Mac with Photos or iPhoto

For macOS X Yosemite or later, you can simply use the Photos app itself to transfer photos. Follow these steps to transfer photos from your iPhone to M1 MacBook Pro:

1. Connect your iPhone to the M1 MacBook Pro via USB cable.
2. The Photos app on your Mac will automatically launch. If not, go to the launchpad and run it.
3. On Photos, click the “Import” tab. Then, simply select the photos you want to transfer. Also, choose Import All New Items to save time.

With earlier versions of macOS X Yosemite, you have the iPhoto feature, which is just like Photos. Repeat the same steps above to move your photos from iPhone to M1 Macs with iPhoto.

Note: If you want to delete photos on your iPhone after the transfer process is complete, just turn on the “Delete items after import”. This feature will automatically remove your iPhone photos after importing them to your Mac.

Transfer Photos from iPhone to M1 Mac via AirDrop 

The famous AirDrop is also a good way for users to send their iPhone photos to other iOS devices or Mac. Here is how to transfer iPhone photos to M1 MacBook Pro with AirDrop:

1. On your iPhone, turn on AirDrop by going to Settings > General > AirDrop. Or, simply open the Control Center and then tap the “AirDrop” button.
2. Now, you find the pictures you want to transfer in the Photos app.
3. Tap Select in the top right corner to choose photos you want to send to the Mac.
4. After that, tap the Share icon.
5. In the AirDrop section, find and choose the name of the device you want to share your photos with.
6. Accept the photos on the Mac. Then, you can easily find them in the Downloads folder.

How to Import Photos from iPhone to Mac with Image Capture

Here is our step-by-step guide for how to import iPhone Photos to M1 Mac with Image Capture:

1. Connect your iPhone to the M1 Mac using the right USB cable.
2. Run the Image Capture app on your Mac.
3. Next, find your iPhone from the device list, if it is not selected.
4. Set the output folder for your iPhone photos.
5. Then, select images that you want to transfer.
6. Click “Import”. Or, you can choose “Import all” if you want to save time and start transferring everything immediately.
7. Finally, click the “Import To” at the bottom to choose where to save your images or create a PDF.

Using iCloud to Sync Photos from iPhone to Mac 

iCloud is Apple’s online storage service. So, this is also a great tool, not only for saving your photos but also for moving them to other Apple devices. When you activate iCloud Photos, all photos on your iPhone get stored in the iCloud. So, you can use it to view and download them from your Mac. Just make sure that you use the same Apple ID on both iPhone and Mac. Also, you will need to have enough free storage in order to sync your photos to iCloud. Follow these steps to sync iPhone photos to Mac with iCloud:

1. On your Mac, click the Apple icon at the top left of the screen
2. Then, go to System Preferences > Choose iCloud.
3. Check the box next to the iCloud Photo Library.
4. Go to Settings on your iPhone. Open Photos and ensure that iCloud Photos is on.

Note that you have to sign in with the same Apple ID on your iPhone and Mac.

If you have any questions about how to transfer photos from iPhone to MacBook Pro M1, just let us know in the comments!

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