Steveohim

Q: Photos and videos taking up storage on iPad

I have 50gb of iCloud storage and a 64gb iPad. Now I was under the impression that when photos are uploaded to the cloud they are viewed from the internet, hence why I got 50gb. So why when I look at the storage on my iPad it says 32gb is taken up by photos and videos. Surely that's what iCloud is for? People were telling me they only need 16gb iPhones because you can view all the photos from the cloud. All the photos were taken with my current and previous iPhones

iPhone 6s, iOS 10, null

Posted on Sep 18, 2016 3:49 AM

Close

Q: Photos and videos taking up storage on iPad

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Sep 18, 2016 3:53 AM in response to Steveohim
    Level 10 (103,810 points)
    Apple TV
    Sep 18, 2016 3:53 AM in response to Steveohim

    You need to turn optimisation on in your Photos and camera settings, that way the images will take a fraction of the original space (they can't take none)

  • by Steveohim,

    Steveohim Steveohim Sep 18, 2016 4:05 AM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 18, 2016 4:05 AM in response to Winston Churchill

    I have on both devices, I don't get it, it shouldn't be taking up 32gb on the iPad. I have never taken any photos on my iPad, what's the point in iCloud then? I can just upload everything to Flickr up to 1tb free, and view from both devices without taking up any storage which is what I thought iCloud did

  • by Winston Churchill,Apple recommended

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Sep 18, 2016 4:13 AM in response to Steveohim
    Level 10 (103,810 points)
    Apple TV
    Sep 18, 2016 4:13 AM in response to Steveohim

    Steveohim wrote:

     

    I have on both devices, I don't get it, it shouldn't be taking up 32gb on the iPad.

    Optimisation is dynamic, it reduces the resolution of your photos as and when needed, so you may not notice it occurring at first. However when it is needed, it is very effective and users have reported libraries being optimised to much less than 10% of their original size in some cases. My own library is about 9% of its original size on my phone.

    I have never taken any photos on my iPad, what's the point in iCloud then?

    That's precisely the point, you can see the photos taken on any device on every device.

    I can just upload everything to Flickr up to 1tb free, and view from both devices without taking up any storage which is what I thought iCloud did

    Not when you aren't connected to the internet you can't, nor can you implement any of the many features of using Photos on the device unless your photos are in your Photos app, nor is the uploading automatic.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 18, 2016 12:35 PM in response to Steveohim
    Level 9 (71,487 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 18, 2016 12:35 PM in response to Steveohim

    iCloud is a syncing system, not an external 'hard drive'. If you delete them on your device, they will delete from iCloud.

  • by LACAllen,

    LACAllen LACAllen Sep 23, 2016 6:14 PM in response to Steveohim
    Level 5 (4,894 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 23, 2016 6:14 PM in response to Steveohim

    People were telling me they only need 16gb iPhones because you can view all the photos from the cloud.

     

    I'm afraid those people were wrong.

     

    If you think of the way iCloud Photo Library actually works, the weakest "link" in the chain will always be the smaller storage capacities of iPhones, iPads and iPod touches.

     

    The optimize feature, as noted, is the only solution possible to the space-on-my-device issue..