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If I import photos from my iPhone to my Mac and still keep my iCloud photos on on my Mac and my iPhone would that duplicate the photos on my Mac or what would happen?
Is there a way I can keep both iCloud photos on and import my iPhone photos to my Mac once in a while, without it duplicating on my Mac
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.2
How are you using iCloud Photos on the iPhone? With "Optimise iPhone Storage" enabled? This may create duplicates, when you manually download the photos from the iPhone. The reason is, that the duplicate detection of the Mac can only recognise exactly identical files. But the files the Mac is downloading from iCloud may not be exactly identical to the files the iPhone has downloaded from iCloud. The creation dates may differ. When you import manually from the iPhone you have to check manually for duplicates. And the Settings > Photos > Transfer to Mac or PC should be set to "Keep originals". The photos must not be converted to a different format when downloading.
How are you using iCloud Photos on the iPhone? With "Optimise iPhone Storage" enabled? This may create duplicates, when you manually download the photos from the iPhone. The reason is, that the duplicate detection of the Mac can only recognise exactly identical files. But the files the Mac is downloading from iCloud may not be exactly identical to the files the iPhone has downloaded from iCloud. The creation dates may differ. When you import manually from the iPhone you have to check manually for duplicates. And the Settings > Photos > Transfer to Mac or PC should be set to "Keep originals". The photos must not be converted to a different format when downloading.
Unpredictable, but a strong chance of creating duplicates.
You should only use one form of transfer between devices. If you are using iCloud to sync your libraries, then you should not also transfer via manual connection/usb.
Just let icloud do the syncing. If you seem to be waiting a long time for that to happen, remember you need to open the photos app on your phone for it to upload to iCloud. Normally for me it only takes a couple of minutes to sync new photos. Obviously it can take a bit longer for videos.
It’s just that I don’t have enough storage anymore for my iCloud. I also don’t have enough iPhone storage either. I want to transfer all my photos to my Mac, but, my iCloud storage does not have anymore space to take in the other photos I have and upload it to my Mac.
but thank your for the insight, and stay safe
Thank you, have a nice day and stay safe
If you don't have enough iCloud storage, then you either need to pay for a plan with larger storage (and then turn on optimise phone storage on your phone), or stop using iCloud photos.
Imported photos and iCloud photos
