Photo resolution limitation when sync from Mac Photos?

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Photo resolution limitation when sync from Mac Photos?

I have a huge library of around 40000 photos in the Mac Photos library, and what I usually do is that I sync them onto my phone using Finder (at full photo quality) so I can view them on my phone at anytime.

However recently, I realised that for photos that were not shot using an iPhone, such as those from DSLR cameras or drones, their resolutions were downgraded to only around 3 MP with sizes of no more than 1 MB, while those shot with iPhone retained full quality.

Does anyone here know why is this happening? Is it a bug of a recent iOS software update?

Thanks in advance!

iPhone 12 Pro

Posted on Jul 13, 2023 7:11 AM

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Answer 1

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léonie

Level 10

201,823 points

Jul 13, 2023 11:25 AM in response to RyanYWLiu

As far as I know, the syncing with the Finder or iTunes has always saved the photos on the other devices in a resolution optimized for the device. Very large files have been scaled down to save storage on the device.

For this purpose there is an iPod Photo Cache (or iPhone Photo Cache etc.) in the Photos Library.

You may want to use iCloud Photos to sync the photos at the full resolution between all your devices.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

201,823 points

Jul 14, 2023 6:21 AM in response to RyanYWLiu

use a different method to transfer the large files, for example Air Drop.

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Answer 3

RyanYWLiu Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 13, 2023 3:39 PM in response to léonie

Thanks for your reply. Do you know if there is any option to stop large files from being scaled down during a Finder/iTunes sync? I am hesitated to use iCloud Photos as I don't want my personal photos to be uploaded to someone else, plus the library is huge hence monthly fees would be expensive.

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Photo resolution limitation when sync from Mac Photos?

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