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Apple says that Optimize iPhone storage will replace media files with "device-size" ones while keeping the full sized ones in iCloud. But unsurprisingly they don't really explain anything. Assuming unlimited iCloud storage and a 64GB iPhone. How large (in kb) are these thumbnails? How many can a 64GB iPhone hold? Can these compressed, small media files fill the iPhone storage? What happens then?
It would take a lot for my phone to filled with photos. I own a 256GB iPhone.
And yes, if you delete photos from your phone, which are synced with iCloud, they will delete from the Cloud.
You can always upload photos to your home computer directly. Or you can get a backup service like Carbonite, Dropbox or use a photo archival service from Amazon Photo or Google Photo as some options.
This link might help you --> Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
It would take a lot for my phone to filled with photos. I own a 256GB iPhone.
And yes, if you delete photos from your phone, which are synced with iCloud, they will delete from the Cloud.
You can always upload photos to your home computer directly. Or you can get a backup service like Carbonite, Dropbox or use a photo archival service from Amazon Photo or Google Photo as some options.
This link might help you --> Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
I don't believe it's a published specification how many KB's an optimized thumbnail photo is on your phone. It is still full size in the cloud if you need the full size photo.
I currently have over 7,000 photos on my iPhone. Using Optimized Storage for photos, that is occupying 6.59 GB of space on my phone. That translates to 6910115.84 KB Based on this, each thumbnail photo on my phone is approximately 987 KB. Based on how much space is available on your phone, you can do the math to give you an approximate number of photos you can store before you run out of space.
As a full-sized JPG on an iPhone averages about 4 MB, that looks like a 4 to 1 compression ratio based on lobsterghost1’s information. HEIC images will be smaller than JPG and will be higher resolution, and RAW (on phones that support it) will be much larger.
Thank you, lobsterghost1, for your very helpful and clear answer. What do you do when the thumbnails eventually fill your iPhone storage? Will Photos delete the oldest/less accessed ones from your iPhone without deleting the full sized ones from iCloud?
My understanding is that if *I* delete them myself they will be deleted from iCloud too. But there must be some solution (other than Google Photos, or external HDs), otherwise you'd have to keep buying new iPhones with an ever increasing storage space.
How does "optimize iPhone storage" in Photos really work?
