Switching from iOS to Android is simple when you use Google services. If you’ve been immersed in the Apple ecosystem for a long time and are consideringan Android camera phoneto replace your iPhone, learn how to download your photos from iCloud to bring them over. After all, our entire lives exist in our photo apps.
The instructions in this guide use an iPhone 13 Pro running iOS 17.1 and a MacBook Pro with M1 Pro silicone running macOS Sonoma.
Do not delete your photos
Apple Photos stores each photo physically on your device. Each photo mirrors its counterpart on your other Apple devices. If you delete a photo from one device, it deletes it from every device.
Download your photos from your iPhone or iPad before you delete them.
Transfer your photos the easy way
If you only want to switch your photos from Apple Photos to Google Photos, there’s a simpler way than downloading them. Install Google Photos on your iPhone, sign in to your Google account, and let it do its thing. Google Photos backs up your photos and videos from your iPhone.
You must have enough space on your Google account. Google offers 15GB of free storage across all of its services. You could quickly run out of Google storage if you have a large Apple Photos library filled with live pictures, videos, portrait shots, and other high-quality memory-hogging images.
Set your iPhone so that it doesn’t go to sleep, and plug it in during the Google Photos backup. The backup stops if the phone turns off. Also, keep the Google Photos app open, or the backup will be interrupted.
Suppose you don’t intend to transfer your photos to another service and want to store the photo files somewhere safe, such as adirect or network-attached storage device. In that case, download the photos to your iPhone before transferring them.
To download iCloud photos to your iPhone (or iPad), follow these steps:
Your photos download to your Files app in ZIP format. You can access them by tapping the blue download icon on the Safari address bar or by opening the Files app.
You can pull your photos from the Photos app on Mac in a few short steps. This downloads your library to your Mac, so make sure you have memory available.
You don’t need an Apple device or Apple Photos to download your photos from iCloud. You can use the same method on a PC or Mac. Here’s how.
Common problems and how to fix them
Apple services are generally robust and easy to use, but they’re still technology, and things can go wrong. Try these fixes if you run into issues downloading your photos from iCloud.
Low power woes
Your photos pause downloading when your iPhone or iPad switches to low-power mode. This happens automatically when your device is below 20% battery life and suspends all background tasks to conserve power. While helpful, it can interrupt photo downloads.
If your downloads are paused, connect your device to a charger and turn off low-power mode.
iCloud Library is turned off
Some simple issues can cause large headaches, such as when your iCloud Library is turned off, stopping your device from accessing the files stored on iCloud.
Head to your Settings app, go to Photos, and make sure iCloud Photos is toggled on.
Slow internet
A slow or spotty internet connection can cause download issues. If your internet cuts out, your downloads stop and start again. Also, your photos don’t download if multiple devices use a lot of bandwidth at once. Check your internet speeds to see if this is causing issues.
No more space
It’s easy to run out of physical storage on an iPhone, especially at the prices Apple charges for larger storage. You can connect an external SSD to your iPhone, beginning with the iPhone 15, thanks to USB-C. Still, the best way to avoid running out of storage issues while downloading photos is to use a Mac or PC.
How to delete duplicate photos on your iPhone
Swipe away duplicates and make room for new memories
There are multiple ways to get your photos from iCloud
Apple Photos and the iCloud system are designed to simplify storage. Downloading your photos from iCloud is straightforward and can be done with a few clicks, provided there’s enough physical storage for the incoming downloads.
