Photos App and iCloud Photo Backup

[Lambo The Jambo]

Hey guys I hope you can help with my question.

So, I'm finally ready to upload all my photos (30GB) from the past few years from my MBP to iCloud photo storage. I will also keep the originals on my MBP for the time being.

My question is how will this then transpire on my iPhone and iPad. I do understand that thumbnails will be available across all my devices. Specifially what I want to understand is what happens then when I find an image I wish to look at from years ago on my iPhone. Does it download it to my phone from iCloud in its original size? If so, my worry is that I will soon run out of space on my iPhone.

Any help, greatly appreciated folks. Cheers!

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Hey guys I hope you can help with my question.

So, I'm finally ready to upload all my photos (30GB) from the past few years from my MBP to iCloud photo storage. I will also keep the originals on my MBP for the time being.

My question is how will this then transpire on my iPhone and iPad. I do understand that thumbnails will be available across all my devices. Specifially what I want to understand is what happens then when I find an image I wish to look at from years ago on my iPhone. Does it download it to my phone from iCloud in its original size? If so, my worry is that I will soon run out of space on my iPhone.

Any help, greatly appreciated folks. Cheers!

On the iPhone, select Settings > iCloud > Photos > Optimize iPhone Storage. This means that a) "optimized resolution" images will be downloaded to the iPhone - no larger than is necessary to look good on that display, b) optimized-resolution images on the iPhone that have not been accessed in a while will be deleted from the iPhone, leaving just the thumbnail behind. They'll be downloaded again if/when needed.

iCloud/Photos will be managing the amount of space used on the iPhone for photos - if space on the phone is limited, space will automatically be liberated for other purposes, based on when an image was last viewed. (iCloud documents have been managed this way for quite some time.)

 

[Lambo The Jambo]

On the iPhone, select Settings > iCloud > Photos > Optimize iPhone Storage. This means that a) "optimized resolution" images will be downloaded to the iPhone - no larger than is necessary to look good on that display, b) optimized-resolution images on the iPhone that have not been accessed in a while will be deleted from the iPhone, leaving just the thumbnail behind. They'll be downloaded again if/when needed.

iCloud/Photos will be managing the amount of space used on the iPhone for photos - if space on the phone is limited, space will automatically be liberated for other purposes, based on when an image was last viewed. (iCloud documents have been managed this way for quite some time.)

Very useful, thanks for that great response!