We’ve all been there: Running low on iPhone storage space, scrambling to delete photos we can live without to record new memories. Well, Apple’s newest iOS update gave us a handy new way to get more storage out of our iPhones without upgrading the hardware.
Apple’s iOS 8.1 activated a feature called the iCloud Photo Library, which automatically uploads your photos and videos to your iCloud account — Apple’s version of cloud storage. iCloud users get 5GB of storage space for free, but can bump that up to 20GB for $.99/month, 200GB for $3.99/month, 500GB for $9.99/month and so on.
If you choose to activate iCloud Photo Library, your iPhone will by default keep big, high-resolution files both on your device and on iCloud. But here’s where the storage-saving trick comes in: You can set the iCloud Photo Library to upload the higher-resolution files to the cloud and keep only compressed (read: smaller) versions on your iPhone. Those compressed versions are still good enough to show off your photos to family and friends on your iPhone screen, but they take up much less space on your device — leaving you free to take more photos and videos.
To turn on the iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone or iPad, first make sure you’ve got the latest iOS 8.1 update installed and that you’re signed up for iCloud. Then go to Settings, select iCloud, find Photos and turn on iCloud Photo Library. Then, for the space-saving trick, activate the “Optimize” feature, which is also accessible by going to Settings, selecting Photos & Camera, then iCloud Photo Library.
See the World Await and Celebrate Apple's iPhone 6
People pass time as they wait outside an Apple store for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in London on Sept. 17, 2014. Lefteris Pitarakis—APPeople wait in line in front of the Apple Store in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2014.Yuya Shino—ReutersA man sleeps in a tent in the queue outside an Apple store in London on Sept. 18, 2014.Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty ImagesA man wearing a replica of an iPhone 6 Plus model on his head yawns while waiting in front of an Apple Store in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2014.Yuya Shino—ReutersA woman sleeps in a chair as she waits in queue outside the Apple store in London on Sept. 18, 2014. Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty ImagesA staff member removes a display poster of iPhone 5S at an Apple store in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2014,.Yuya Shino—ReutersCustomers queue outside an Apple store in Hong Kong on Sept. 19, 2014. Xaume Ollerose—AFP/Getty ImagesKen Miyauchi Vice President of Softbank, Japanese mobile phone company and actress Sayaka Kanda, in a pink dress, react during a ceremony to mark the first day of sales of the latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at a store in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2014.Shizuo Kambayashi—APAfter being first in line for 19 days, Moon Ray, from Jackson, Miss. runs the gauntlet of Apple store workers as she enters the Fifth Avenue Apple store in New York on Sept. 19, 2014.Peter Foley—EPAApple store staff high five customers as they enter an store in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2014.Chris McGrath—Getty ImagesA man wearing a mask depicting Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs holds up a cardboard cut-out of Apple's new iPhone 6, as he walks into an Apple Store in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2014.Yuya Shino—ReutersAndreas Gibson celebrates as he exits an Apple store in New York after being the first to purchase an iPhone 6 Plus on Sept. 19, 2014. Julie Jacobson—APJamael Ahmed jumps in the air as he leaves the store after being the first to purchase the iPhone 6 at Apple Covent Gardens in London on Sept. 19, 2014.Ben A. Pruchnie—Getty Images
