Théophane
Level 1 (8 points)
Photos for Mac

Q: Syncing moments across devices

Hi all,

 

I use the iCloud Photo Library for my photo collection.

 

With the update towards iOS10 and macOS Sierra, I have access to the new Memories & Faces features. What seems weird though is that each of my devices (iPad, iPhone and Mac) seem to be mining my 17 000+ photos collection separately. My iPad is done doing that, but my iPhone and Mac haven't finished that process.

 

Is that normal ? Isn't that process supposed to happen just on one of my devices and then be synced across them trough the iCloud Photo Library ?

 

Thanks

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Sep 22, 2016 11:47 AM

by léonie,Apple recommended
léonie léonie
Level 10 (107,629 points)
iCloud
A:

The Photos help says: https://help.apple.com/photos/mac/1.2/?lang=en#/phtad9d981ab

When you first open Photos, it scans your library to identify people in your photos. After the scan is done, you can open the People album, view collections of photos organized by the faces in them, and assign names to the people Photos found. As you import new photos into your library, Photos scans them and matches any people in them to the people you’ve identified. You can also identify the people in your photos manually.

This scan will happen on every Mac independently. The people are not synced across devices:

 

https://help.apple.com/photos/mac/1.2/?lang=en#/phtf5e48489c

 

Note: People identified in the People album are not synced across devices.

This is supposed to be different on iPhone and iPad, at least the User Guide says: http://help.apple.com/iphone/10/#/iph9c7ee918c

People are synced among devices where you’re signed in with the same Apple ID.

 

I cannot test this however, since only my iPhone could be upgraded to iOS 10, not may iPad.

Posted on Sep 22, 2016 12:05 PM

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Théophane

Q: Syncing moments across devices

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  • Helpful answers

  • by léonie,Apple recommended

    léonie léonie Sep 22, 2016 12:05 PM in response to Théophane
    Level 10 (107,629 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 22, 2016 12:05 PM in response to Théophane

    The Photos help says: https://help.apple.com/photos/mac/1.2/?lang=en#/phtad9d981ab

    When you first open Photos, it scans your library to identify people in your photos. After the scan is done, you can open the People album, view collections of photos organized by the faces in them, and assign names to the people Photos found. As you import new photos into your library, Photos scans them and matches any people in them to the people you’ve identified. You can also identify the people in your photos manually.

    This scan will happen on every Mac independently. The people are not synced across devices:

     

    https://help.apple.com/photos/mac/1.2/?lang=en#/phtf5e48489c

     

    Note: People identified in the People album are not synced across devices.

    This is supposed to be different on iPhone and iPad, at least the User Guide says: http://help.apple.com/iphone/10/#/iph9c7ee918c

    People are synced among devices where you’re signed in with the same Apple ID.

     

    I cannot test this however, since only my iPhone could be upgraded to iOS 10, not may iPad.

  • by Théophane,

    Théophane Théophane Sep 23, 2016 2:13 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 23, 2016 2:13 AM in response to léonie

    Hi and thanks for answering.

     

    Not sure it's very clear in my head though. I still have to wait for all of my devices to complete the mining process. I don't really mind about "Moments" since they are handled automatically. But having to tag my wife and son's faces over and over again on every single device sounds annoying. I'll wait that scanning process to be completed on all of my devices and let you know.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Sep 23, 2016 4:23 AM in response to Théophane
    Level 10 (107,629 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 23, 2016 4:23 AM in response to Théophane
    But having to tag my wife and son's faces over and over again on every single device sounds annoying. I'll wait that scanning process to be completed on all of my devices and let you know.

    It sure is a tedious work. I had to tag the people on three different Macs - a large iCloud Photo Library with 45000 photos, and did still not get started on the iPhone. It is really annoying that the people names do not sync across iCloud Photo Library devices.

     

    What I did to make it a bit easier: I named the people primarily on one Mac, and when done, I added the name of the person as a keyword. Just open the people album, select all photos of a person, then type the name of the person into the keyword section of the Info panel.

    These keywords sync to iCloud Photo Library and I can search for them on any Mac. And when I want to name detected persons, I can select the person in the People album and open the Info panel and copy and paste the name from the Info panel directly below the person  thumbnail. This will ensure, that I am using the same writing for the name on all devices.