Can’t search synced photo albums in iOS 26

"From My Mac" pictures can be shown by Photos, but they aren't owned by Photos. They can't be edited or deleted, because they are pictures from the computer, and you're expected to use the computer to deal with them. iCloud Photos is designed to transfer pictures with "full citizenship," true synchronization.

If you want your synced photos to be first class citizens, you may want to use iCloud Photos to sync them between your devices. Only then they will be properly added to your Photos Library.

Sorry, Richard, I did not see your reply.

It's not a bug. You're trying to use a dial telephone in a digital world and wondering why you don't get caller ID with it.

You can use a Shared Library (as léonie does) or a separate Favorites Library to connect to iCloud and synchronize a limited set of your pictures with other devices.

How to use iCloud Shared Photo Library on iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Create additional photo libraries in Photos on Mac - Apple Support

tiww wrote: … Why is there a Search icon in the synced albums (collection) if you can’t search for ANYTHING?! Doesn’t matter what you enter nothing is ever returned. Seems like a bug to me.

I agree, I really don't see why it shouldn't work. Sometimes it takes awhile after a system upgrade to fully scan all the pictures. It doesn't search the pictures, of course-- it searches the database of information it's gathered from the pictures. We certainly saw this in the switch to macOS 15. Maybe give it a few days and see…