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Q&A Recommended way to back up large photo/video library on iOS device

I believe the recommended solution by Apple would be to buy a more expensive phone with more storage. This is usually not a very good deal financially. For example, currently the iPhone 15 has a 1...

posted 3mo ago by matthewsnyder‭  ·  edited 3mo ago by matthewsnyder‭

Answer
#7: Post edited by user avatar matthewsnyder‭ · 2024-02-20T22:44:17Z (3 months ago)
  • I believe the recommended solution by Apple would be to buy a more expensive phone with more storage.
  • This is usually not a very good deal financially. For example, currently the iPhone 15 has a 128GB model for $800, while the 512GB model is $1100, so they want you to pay $300 more. Meanwhile a 500 GB memory card would cost only $30. Unfortunately iPhones do not have an SD card slot, so you would have to switch phones to use the memory card.
  • Alternatively a 2TB hard drive is about $65 and would be a good alternative to iCloud (I believe there is a way to connect external drives to an iPhone). With an external hard drive, if you ever lose the drive the photos will be gone. To mitigate this you can purchase a second drive, and periodically copy the files from one to the other. While this does not use "cloud storage", it would solve your problem and also have some benefits like working offline. It has the drawback of needing to manually copy files between the two drives (or setting up an automated backup).
  • You can also use a generic cloud file storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
  • I believe the recommended solution by Apple would be to buy a more expensive phone with more storage.
  • This is usually not a very good deal financially. For example, currently the iPhone 15 has a 128GB model for $800, while the 512GB model is $1100, so they want you to pay $300 more. Meanwhile a 500 GB memory card would cost only $30. Unfortunately iPhones do not have an SD card slot, so you would have to switch phones to use the memory card.
  • Alternatively a 2TB hard drive is about $65 and would be a good alternative to iCloud (I believe there is a way to connect external drives to an iPhone). With an external hard drive, if you ever lose the drive the photos will be gone. To mitigate this you can purchase a second drive, and periodically copy the files from one to the other. While this does not use "cloud storage", it would solve your problem and also have some benefits like working offline. It has the drawback of needing to manually copy files between the two drives (or setting up an automated backup).
  • You can also use a generic cloud file storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced. There are many other open source sync services like Nextcloud, but Nextcloud is one of the most established ones.
#6: Post edited by user avatar matthewsnyder‭ · 2024-02-20T22:43:13Z (3 months ago)
made it more neutral and focused, took out speculation about Apple's corporate goals
  • If I needed to store photos, I would simply put JPEGs in a folder. Depending on personal preference, I would then organize them into subfolders and/or put tags in EXIF.
  • If these end up taking too much space, I would get a generic cloud storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or pay to use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
  • Alternatively, I would just buy a 2TB drive (currently around $65) and put the photos on there.
  • What I'm trying to say here is that I think your problem is self imposed. Apple likes to decide one way to use their products is best, and then force users into it. Sometimes this is not even because they believe this results in a better quality product, but because they think they can force their users into a profitable but hard to use service which they otherwise would not want. In this case, Apple has decided that local storage is passe, devices should have minimal storage space, and users should just pay to have their photos in a proprietary cloud where Apple gets to decide what you want to do with them. Due to this thumbnail caching trick, they believe 64GB should be enough for "normal users", and people who want more are "power users" who should buy the more expensive model.
  • For example, the iPhone 15 currently has a 128GB model for $800, and a 512GB model for $1100. Note how they want you to pay $300 more for ~400 GB, when a 500 GB memory card costs only $30 (but of course, there is no sd card slot on the iPhone - I wonder why!). Profit margins like this are the reason Apple is one of the largest companies in history.
  • The "recommended" (by Apple) solution to your problem is, unfortunately, to spend more money on a more expensive iPhone. So the real solution is to buy hardware from less user-hostile vendors.
  • I believe the recommended solution by Apple would be to buy a more expensive phone with more storage.
  • This is usually not a very good deal financially. For example, currently the iPhone 15 has a 128GB model for $800, while the 512GB model is $1100, so they want you to pay $300 more. Meanwhile a 500 GB memory card would cost only $30. Unfortunately iPhones do not have an SD card slot, so you would have to switch phones to use the memory card.
  • Alternatively a 2TB hard drive is about $65 and would be a good alternative to iCloud (I believe there is a way to connect external drives to an iPhone). With an external hard drive, if you ever lose the drive the photos will be gone. To mitigate this you can purchase a second drive, and periodically copy the files from one to the other. While this does not use "cloud storage", it would solve your problem and also have some benefits like working offline. It has the drawback of needing to manually copy files between the two drives (or setting up an automated backup).
  • You can also use a generic cloud file storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
#5: Post edited by user avatar matthewsnyder‭ · 2024-02-16T05:50:55Z (3 months ago)
  • If I needed to store photos, I would simply put JPEGs in a folder. Depending on personal preference, I would then organize them into subfolders and/or put tags in EXIF.
  • If these end up taking too much space, I would get a generic cloud storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or pay to use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
  • Alternatively, I would just buy a 2TB drive (currently around $65) and put the photos on there.
  • What I'm trying to say here is that I think your problem is self imposed. Apple often likes to decide one way to use their products is best, and then force users into it. Sometimes this is not even because they believe this results in a better quality product, but because they think they can force their users into a profitable but hard to use service which they otherwise would not want. In this case, Apple has decided that local storage is passe, devices should have minimal storage space, and users should just pay to have their photos in a proprietary cloud where Apple gets to decide what you want to do with them. Due to this thumbnail caching trick, they believe 64GB should be enough for "normal users", and people who want more are "power users" who should buy the more expensive model.
  • For example, the iPhone 15 currently has a 128GB model for $800, and a 512GB model for $1100. Note how they want you to pay $300 more for ~400 GB, when a 500 GB memory card costs only $30 (but of course, there is no sd card slot on the iPhone - I wonder why!). Profit margins like this are the reason Apple is one of the largest companies in history.
  • The "recommended" (by Apple) solution to your problem is, unfortunately, to spend more money on a more expensive iPhone. So the real solution is to buy hardware from less user-hostile vendors.
  • If I needed to store photos, I would simply put JPEGs in a folder. Depending on personal preference, I would then organize them into subfolders and/or put tags in EXIF.
  • If these end up taking too much space, I would get a generic cloud storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or pay to use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
  • Alternatively, I would just buy a 2TB drive (currently around $65) and put the photos on there.
  • What I'm trying to say here is that I think your problem is self imposed. Apple likes to decide one way to use their products is best, and then force users into it. Sometimes this is not even because they believe this results in a better quality product, but because they think they can force their users into a profitable but hard to use service which they otherwise would not want. In this case, Apple has decided that local storage is passe, devices should have minimal storage space, and users should just pay to have their photos in a proprietary cloud where Apple gets to decide what you want to do with them. Due to this thumbnail caching trick, they believe 64GB should be enough for "normal users", and people who want more are "power users" who should buy the more expensive model.
  • For example, the iPhone 15 currently has a 128GB model for $800, and a 512GB model for $1100. Note how they want you to pay $300 more for ~400 GB, when a 500 GB memory card costs only $30 (but of course, there is no sd card slot on the iPhone - I wonder why!). Profit margins like this are the reason Apple is one of the largest companies in history.
  • The "recommended" (by Apple) solution to your problem is, unfortunately, to spend more money on a more expensive iPhone. So the real solution is to buy hardware from less user-hostile vendors.
#4: Post edited by user avatar matthewsnyder‭ · 2024-02-15T20:23:32Z (3 months ago)
  • If I needed to store photos, I would simply put JPEGs in a folder. Depending on personal preference, I would then organize them into subfolders and/or put tags in EXIF.
  • If these end up taking too much space, I would get a generic cloud storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or pay to use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
  • Alternatively, I would just buy a 2TB drive (currently around $65) and put the photos on there.
  • What I'm trying to say here is that I think your problem is self imposed. Apple often likes to decide one way to use their products is best, and then force users into it. Sometimes this is not even because they believe this results in a better quality product, but because they think they can force their users into a profitable but hard to use service which they otherwise would not want. In this case, Apple has decided that local storage is passe, devices should have minimal storage space, and users should just pay to have their photos in a proprietary cloud where Apple gets to decide what you want to do with them. Due to this thumbnail caching trick, they believe 64GB should be enough for "normal users", and people who want more are "power users" who should buy the more expensive model.
  • For example, the iPhone 15 currently has a 128GB model for $800, and a 512GB model for $1100. Note how they want you to pay $300 more for ~400 GB, when a 500 GB memory card costs only $30 (but of course, there is no sd card slot on the iPhone - I wonder why!). Profit margins like this are the reason Apple is one of the largest, most profitable companies in history.
  • The "recommended" (by Apple) solution to your problem is, unfortunately, to spend more money on a more expensive iPhone. So the real solution is to buy hardware from less user-hostile vendors.
  • If I needed to store photos, I would simply put JPEGs in a folder. Depending on personal preference, I would then organize them into subfolders and/or put tags in EXIF.
  • If these end up taking too much space, I would get a generic cloud storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or pay to use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
  • Alternatively, I would just buy a 2TB drive (currently around $65) and put the photos on there.
  • What I'm trying to say here is that I think your problem is self imposed. Apple often likes to decide one way to use their products is best, and then force users into it. Sometimes this is not even because they believe this results in a better quality product, but because they think they can force their users into a profitable but hard to use service which they otherwise would not want. In this case, Apple has decided that local storage is passe, devices should have minimal storage space, and users should just pay to have their photos in a proprietary cloud where Apple gets to decide what you want to do with them. Due to this thumbnail caching trick, they believe 64GB should be enough for "normal users", and people who want more are "power users" who should buy the more expensive model.
  • For example, the iPhone 15 currently has a 128GB model for $800, and a 512GB model for $1100. Note how they want you to pay $300 more for ~400 GB, when a 500 GB memory card costs only $30 (but of course, there is no sd card slot on the iPhone - I wonder why!). Profit margins like this are the reason Apple is one of the largest companies in history.
  • The "recommended" (by Apple) solution to your problem is, unfortunately, to spend more money on a more expensive iPhone. So the real solution is to buy hardware from less user-hostile vendors.
#3: Post edited by user avatar matthewsnyder‭ · 2024-02-15T20:23:11Z (3 months ago)
  • If I needed to store photos, I would simply put JPEGs in a folder. Depending on personal preference, I would then organize them into subfolders and/or put tags in EXIF.
  • If these end up taking too much space, I would get a generic cloud storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or pay to use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
  • Alternatively, I would just buy a 2TB drive (currently around $65) and put the photos on there.
  • What I'm trying to say here is that I think your problem is self imposed. Apple often likes to decide one way to use their products is best, and then force users into it. Sometimes this is not even because they believe this results in a better quality product, but because they think they can force their users into a profitable but hard to use service which they otherwise would not want. In this case, Apple has decided that local storage is passe, devices should have minimal storage space, and users should just pay to have their photos in a proprietary cloud where Apple gets to decide what you want to do with them. Due to this thumbnail caching trick, they believe 64GB should be enough for "normal users", and people who want more are "power users" who should buy the more expensive model.
  • For example, the iPhone 15 currently has a 128GB model for $800, and a 512GB model for $1100. Note how they want you to pay $300 more for ~400 GB, when a 500 GB memory card costs only $30. Profit margins like this are the reason Apple is one of the largest, most profitable companies in history.
  • The "recommended" (by Apple) solution to your problem is, unfortunately, to spend more money on a more expensive iPhone. So the real solution is to buy hardware from less user-hostile vendors.
  • If I needed to store photos, I would simply put JPEGs in a folder. Depending on personal preference, I would then organize them into subfolders and/or put tags in EXIF.
  • If these end up taking too much space, I would get a generic cloud storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or pay to use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
  • Alternatively, I would just buy a 2TB drive (currently around $65) and put the photos on there.
  • What I'm trying to say here is that I think your problem is self imposed. Apple often likes to decide one way to use their products is best, and then force users into it. Sometimes this is not even because they believe this results in a better quality product, but because they think they can force their users into a profitable but hard to use service which they otherwise would not want. In this case, Apple has decided that local storage is passe, devices should have minimal storage space, and users should just pay to have their photos in a proprietary cloud where Apple gets to decide what you want to do with them. Due to this thumbnail caching trick, they believe 64GB should be enough for "normal users", and people who want more are "power users" who should buy the more expensive model.
  • For example, the iPhone 15 currently has a 128GB model for $800, and a 512GB model for $1100. Note how they want you to pay $300 more for ~400 GB, when a 500 GB memory card costs only $30 (but of course, there is no sd card slot on the iPhone - I wonder why!). Profit margins like this are the reason Apple is one of the largest, most profitable companies in history.
  • The "recommended" (by Apple) solution to your problem is, unfortunately, to spend more money on a more expensive iPhone. So the real solution is to buy hardware from less user-hostile vendors.
#2: Post edited by user avatar matthewsnyder‭ · 2024-02-15T20:22:39Z (3 months ago)
  • If I needed to store photos, I would simply put JPEGs in a folder. Depending on personal preference, I would then organize them into subfolders and/or put tags in EXIF.
  • If these end up taking too much space, I would get a generic cloud storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or pay to use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
  • Alternatively, I would just buy a 2TB drive (currently around $65) and put the photos on there.
  • What I'm trying to say here is that I think your problem is self imposed. Apple often likes to decide one way to use their products is best, and then force users into it. Sometimes this is not even because they believe this results in a better quality product, but because they think they can force their users into a profitable but hard to use service which they otherwise would not want. In this case, Apple has decided that local storage is passe, devices should have minimal storage space, and users should just pay to have their photos in a proprietary cloud where Apple gets to decide what you want to do with them. Due to this thumbnail caching trick, they believe 64GB should be enough for "normal users", and people who want more are "power users" who should buy the more expensive model.
  • For example, the iPhone 15 currently has a 128GB model for $800, and a 512GB model for $1100. Note how they want you to pay $300 more for ~400 GB, when a 500 GB memory card costs only $30. Profit margins like this are the reason Apple is one of the largest, most profitable companies in history.
  • The "recommended" (by Apple) solution to your problem is, unfortunately, to spend more money on a more expensive iPhone.
  • If I needed to store photos, I would simply put JPEGs in a folder. Depending on personal preference, I would then organize them into subfolders and/or put tags in EXIF.
  • If these end up taking too much space, I would get a generic cloud storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or pay to use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.
  • Alternatively, I would just buy a 2TB drive (currently around $65) and put the photos on there.
  • What I'm trying to say here is that I think your problem is self imposed. Apple often likes to decide one way to use their products is best, and then force users into it. Sometimes this is not even because they believe this results in a better quality product, but because they think they can force their users into a profitable but hard to use service which they otherwise would not want. In this case, Apple has decided that local storage is passe, devices should have minimal storage space, and users should just pay to have their photos in a proprietary cloud where Apple gets to decide what you want to do with them. Due to this thumbnail caching trick, they believe 64GB should be enough for "normal users", and people who want more are "power users" who should buy the more expensive model.
  • For example, the iPhone 15 currently has a 128GB model for $800, and a 512GB model for $1100. Note how they want you to pay $300 more for ~400 GB, when a 500 GB memory card costs only $30. Profit margins like this are the reason Apple is one of the largest, most profitable companies in history.
  • The "recommended" (by Apple) solution to your problem is, unfortunately, to spend more money on a more expensive iPhone. So the real solution is to buy hardware from less user-hostile vendors.
#1: Initial revision by user avatar matthewsnyder‭ · 2024-02-15T20:21:06Z (3 months ago) 
If I needed to store photos, I would simply put JPEGs in a folder. Depending on personal preference, I would then organize them into subfolders and/or put tags in EXIF.

If these end up taking too much space, I would get a generic cloud storage like Nextcloud. You can either run your own or pay to use an existing one. In Nextcloud, you have lots of freedom in which device syncs what files. It also has a feature where new photos you take are automatically synced.

Alternatively, I would just buy a 2TB drive (currently around $65) and put the photos on there.

What I'm trying to say here is that I think your problem is self imposed. Apple often likes to decide one way to use their products is best, and then force users into it. Sometimes this is not even because they believe this results in a better quality product, but because they think they can force their users into a profitable but hard to use service which they otherwise would not want. In this case, Apple has decided that local storage is passe, devices should have minimal storage space, and users should just pay to have their photos in a proprietary cloud where Apple gets to decide what you want to do with them. Due to this thumbnail caching trick, they believe 64GB should be enough for "normal users", and people who want more are "power users" who should buy the more expensive model.

For example, the iPhone 15 currently has a 128GB model for $800, and a 512GB model for $1100. Note how they want you to pay $300 more for ~400 GB, when a 500 GB memory card costs only $30. Profit margins like this are the reason Apple is one of the largest, most profitable companies in history.

The "recommended" (by Apple) solution to your problem is, unfortunately, to spend more money on a more expensive iPhone.