Photos I have imported already are flagged as new

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Level 4

1,511 points

Photos I have imported already are flagged as new

I use an iPhone X iOS 12.1.4 as my camera of choice. and I use Photos for Mac on my MacBook Pro 10.14.3, with the current version of Photos.

When I connect my iPhone and I set out to import new pictures to my MacBook, Photos for Mac shows a substantial number (in the hundreds) of pictures that I have already imported as "new pictures"

This is aggravating. I expect the units (phone and Mac) to keep track of what is and is not imported. Is there something I need to do, please, to resolve the issue?

MacBook Pro 13”, macOS 10.14

Posted on Mar 19, 2019 4:39 AM

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Answer 1

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léonie

Level 10

195,151 points

Mar 19, 2019 7:32 AM in response to Lurkums

If your iPhone is et to "High Efficiency" and taking images in the HEIF format, but the " TRANSFER TO MAC OR PC" is not set to "Keep Originals" the Mac will import JPEGS instead of HEIC files. And then it will not be able to recognize that the images have already been downloaded.

Check these Settings: In the TRANSFER TO MAC OR PC section, tap Keep Originals to prevent the media from being converted to JPEG or H.264 when importing.

If you disable "High Efficiency" you will need more storage on the iPhone. If you like to keep your photos in the HEIC format, it should suffice to switch to "Keep Originals"

Or simply delete all photos from the iPhone after downloading them to the Mac.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

195,151 points

Mar 19, 2019 5:58 AM in response to Lurkums

If you do not know, if you are taking images in HEIC format, you are probably using this format, because it is the default.

You may want to have a look at this support document and check the settings on your iPhone, that are described here: Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices - Apple Support

And you may want to check the Settings for iCloud as well on the iPhone. A recent update may have enable iCloud Photos. Some users reported, that it had been enabled when they updated their iPhone.

Have a look at "Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Photos". Is "iCloud Photos" still disabled?

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

195,151 points

Mar 19, 2019 5:23 AM in response to Lurkums

There are two possible reasons for images on the iPhone showing as new:

What is the image format of the photos on your iPhone? Is the iPhone taking the photos in the space saving HEIC format, but you are importing the photos as JPEGs? Then the original HEIC files on the iPhone will always be showing as new, since the photos on your Mac are different files in a different format. If you are importing the HEIC files converted to JPEGs, you need to keep track of the photos that you already imported. Photos can only recognize exactly identical image files as duplicates.
Another reason may be iCloud Photos. Are you using iCloud Photos on the iPhone with "Optimize Storage" enabled? Then your iPhone will frequently download photos from iCloud to the iPhone, and the downloaded files will be new copies and not be recognized as already imported versions. If your iPhone is using iCloud Photos and the originals are stored in iCloud, you should import them to your Mac directly from iCloud and not using a USB connection.

Does one of these apply?

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Answer 4

Lurkums Author

Level 4

1,511 points

Mar 19, 2019 5:41 AM in response to léonie

I don't use iCloud Photos at all. Phew. That one is out of the way

HEIC? I have no idea I'm afraid. I just use the phone and it takes pictures. I'm afraid I am not sounding very helpful, but I'm out of my depth

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Answer 5

Lurkums Author

Level 4

1,511 points

Mar 19, 2019 7:19 AM in response to léonie

Thank you. I am going to study this closely. The phone is set, currently, to High Efficiency. iCloud is set of off for photos..

What I think you are saying (both of you) is that if I set the phone to "Most Compatible" then this issue goes away?

I shall experiment if that is so and report back, though almost certainly not for a day or so

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Answer 6

Lurkums Author

Level 4

1,511 points

Mar 19, 2019 8:10 AM in response to léonie

I'm struggling a little. Forgive me. I will replay this to you in my words to see if I have it correct

If I leave the iPhone as High Efficiency, and set the Transfer settings to "Keep Originals" when making the transfer then the Mac, then Photos for Mac will import the files in the High Efficiency format from the phone. I get HEIC files in Photos for Mac.

Do I have that correct?

The phone is set currently as "Automatic"

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