Transferring photos
So I recently just got the iphone 15 but as of right now I don’t have my photos synced to the icloud backup. Do I have to have them synced in order to transfer my photos to my new phone?
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There are two options with photos. One is syncing via iCloud Photos. You can view iCloud Photos by using an internet browser and iCloud.com. iCloud Photos automatically sync with iCloud and with other devices where iCloud Photos is turned on. They will sync with your new device when you turn on iCloud Photos (if they were synced with iCloud from your old device. See: Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support
If you didn't have iCloud Photos turned on but did have a backup to iCloud or a computer and didn't exclude the photos from the backup, they will restore to a new phone when you restore the backup. See: Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support