Time and time again I'm asked a version of this question: "Todd, how can I view my iPhone photos on my iPad?" Or, "Todd, you're into tech, how can I put the photos on my iPhone up on my TV for everyone to see?"
Apple Photos, the default app on your iPhone, makes it a breeze to sync pictures across your iPhone, Mac, iPad and the Apple TV. You just need to know where to look and what settings to activate.
Here's a quick guide to get you up and running.
Set up your iPhone
This is the most important step, so pay attention. If you don't configure the settings properly on your iPhone, you aren't going to be able to see your pictures anywhere else.
- On your iPhone, go to Settings > Photos & Camera
- Enable "iCloud Photo Library."
- Scroll down and make sure "Upload to My Photo Stream" is enabled.
- You should also probably check the box for "Optimize iPhone Storage," especially if you're running low on space.
Once you've configured your iPhone, you're ready to move on to the other steps.
Set up your iPad
Now you're primed and ready to move to your iPad. Since iPads also have cameras, you're going to want to follow similar steps. This way you'll be able to access pictures you take on your iPad (are you one of those people?) on your iPhone and vice versa.
- Open Settings
- Tap Photos & Camera
- Enable "iCloud Photo Library."
- You should start to see photos that you've snapped on your iPhone populating in your Photos app now.
Set up your Apple TV
You don't need your iPhone nearby to see all of your pictures on the largest screen in the house. All you need to do is enable a similar setting that you've already configured on your iPhone and your iPad.
- Open Settings
- Select Accounts
- Tap iCloud
- Choose to enable iCloud Photo Library.
- Now open Photos from the homescreen.
Syncing with Mac
You can also view your Apple Photo library right on your Mac. Again, it's just a matter of flipping a switch. See how easy this is?
- Tap the Apple icon on the top-left of your screen.
- Open System Preferences
- Select iCloud
- Tap Options
- Choose Photos
- Enable iCloud Photo Library.
- Your photos should start to populate right in your Photos app.
View Photos through iCloud.com
Finally, you can also view all of your photos from iCloud through any Web browser. This is important if you don't have Apple Photos installed (on a Windows machine, for example, or perhaps a computer at work.)
- Visit iCloud.com
- Log-in using your Apple account email and password.
- Tap Photos