Apple Resolution reduction - iPhone 13 mini to iCloud

[Richard]

I wonder if anyone can help me with this one. I've just started using the camera on my iPhone 13 mini and noticed that the files arriving on the iCloud are about half their resolution on the phone itself. The native resolution of the iPhone is 4032 x 3024 which equates to a jpg file size of about 3-4 MB. I can see those numbers in the Photos app on the phone when I select an image and press "i". But when the same images arrive on the iCloud they're down to 2048 x 1536 and more like 800 KB to 1.6 MB in size.

I can access the files in the iCloud two ways; either I let them turn up on my laptop (Pictures>iCloud Photos >Downloads) automatically (which is my preferred workflow) or I can log into the iCloud with a web browser, select the files and download them manually. Either way the resolution of the files I receive is reduced to 2048 x 1536, as seen with File Explorer.

If I transfer the images directly from the phone to my laptop with a cable, they comes across at full resolution. It's the act of uploading from the phone to the iCloud which seems to change the file size.

My previous iPhone SE didn't do this, which suggests that it's a setting somewhere on the new phone. I've Googled this and discovered that images are sometimes compressed when you download them from iCloud to iPhone (when you're short of space on the phone) but I can't find any mention of the reverse situation.

Some further info:

iPhone 13 mini
IOS 15.2.1
Settings > camera > formats > "Most Compatible"
Settings iCloud > Photos > "Download and Keep Originals" (there doesn't seem to be any control over uploads, apart from turning them off completely) (in theory, everything should just go up unmolested)

Any ideas? Does your iPhone do this?

-R

 

[Merak75]

I wonder if anyone can help me with this one. I've just started using the camera on my iPhone 13 mini and noticed that the files arriving on the iCloud are about half their resolution on the phone itself. The native resolution of the iPhone is 4032 x 3024 which equates to a jpg file size of about 3-4 MB. I can see those numbers in the Photos app on the phone when I select an image and press "i". But when the same images arrive on the iCloud they're down to 2048 x 1536 and more like 800 KB to 1.6 MB in size.

I can access the files in the iCloud two ways; either I let them turn up on my laptop (Pictures>iCloud Photos >Downloads) automatically (which is my preferred workflow) or I can log into the iCloud with a web browser, select the files and download them manually. Either way the resolution of the files I receive is reduced to 2048 x 1536, as seen with File Explorer.

If I transfer the images directly from the phone to my laptop with a cable, they comes across at full resolution. It's the act of uploading from the phone to the iCloud which seems to change the file size.

My previous iPhone SE didn't do this, which suggests that it's a setting somewhere on the new phone. I've Googled this and discovered that images are sometimes compressed when you download them from iCloud to iPhone (when you're short of space on the phone) but I can't find any mention of the reverse situation.

Some further info:

iPhone 13 mini
IOS 15.2.1
Settings > camera > formats > "Most Compatible"
Settings iCloud > Photos > "Download and Keep Originals" (there doesn't seem to be any control over uploads, apart from turning them off completely) (in theory, everything should just go up unmolested)

Any ideas? Does your iPhone do this?

-R

In settings->Photos under “Transfer to Mac or PC” what is set?

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I just did a quick check on my iPhone 12 and the file size is the exact same resolution and size on both iPhone and Mac. I use iCloud Photo Library, where it syncs automatically between the 2 devices. I keep them as HEIF, though.

I'm a little confused. I can't tell if you are using iCloud Photo Library on both devices, or if you're exporting/importing from your phone in a different manner. The way iCloud Photo Library works, all your content is synced to the cloud, where you can access the exact same content from any device.

 

[Merak75]

I just did a quick check on my iPhone 12 and the file size is the exact same resolution and size on both iPhone and Mac. I use iCloud Photo Library, where it syncs automatically between the 2 devices. I keep them as HEIF, though.

I'm a little confused. I can't tell if you are using iCloud Photo Library on both devices, or if you're exporting/importing from your phone in a different manner. The way iCloud Photo Library works, all your content is synced to the cloud, where you can access the exact same content from any device.

Same here. I think he might be using a PC….

 

[Richard]

In settings->Photos under “Transfer to Mac or PC” what is set?

First of all, thank you for your interest and assistance.

Here's what I see on the phone, should that last setting be "Keep Originals" ?

Edit: I just tried it and it didn't help. The file size of my test image on the phone is 4.3MB, and received via iCloud it's down to 802KB.

-R

 

[Richard]

I just did a quick check on my iPhone 12 and the file size is the exact same resolution and size on both iPhone and Mac. I use iCloud Photo Library, where it syncs automatically between the 2 devices. I keep them as HEIF, though.

I'm a little confused. I can't tell if you are using iCloud Photo Library on both devices, or if you're exporting/importing from your phone in a different manner. The way iCloud Photo Library works, all your content is synced to the cloud, where you can access the exact same content from any device.

On the iPhone, I have "iCloud Photos" selected, as shown above. Not sure whether that means I'm using "iCloud Photo Library" or not. How would I check?

The other device is a Windows 11 PC. I access the iCloud photos as I mentioned in my first post: either I let them turn up on my laptop (Pictures>iCloud Photos >Downloads) automatically (which is my preferred workflow) or I can log into the iCloud with a web browser, select the files and download them manually. Either way the resolution of the files I receive is reduced to 2048 x 1536, as seen with Windows File Explorer.

-R

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

On the iPhone, I have "iCloud Photos" selected, as shown above. Not sure whether that means I'm using "iCloud Photo Library" or not. How would I check?

The other device is a Windows 11 PC. I access the iCloud photos as I mentioned in my first post: either I let them turn up on my laptop (Pictures>iCloud Photos >Downloads) automatically (which is my preferred workflow) or I can log into the iCloud with a web browser, select the files and download them manually. Either way the resolution of the files I receive is reduced to 2048 x 1536, as seen with Windows File Explorer.

-R

Your phone settings look fine to me. You should also be able to "Optimize storage" on the iPhone, as it will save the full-res version to the cloud. Regarding your Windows PC, what settings do you have enabled on the iCloud client? Maybe that's the issue.

 

[Richard]

The settings on the iCloud client on the PC look like this:

I think I played with all of those settings back in February, without success.

I've always felt that the problem is between the phone and the iCloud rather than between the iCloud and the PC, for these reasons:

• This didn't happen with my previous iPhone (iPhone SE)
• I've tried two different methods to download pictures from the iCloud to the PC, and the issue happens in both cases.

After I typed that last line, I went back and checked what happens when I connect to my iCloud storage with a web browser, select a file and download it manually. Guess what? A full resolution file was downloaded

I need to experiment with this some more. Either I'm confusing myself or something has changed since February. I'll take some more photos and compare the two methods of downloading them from the iCloud to see what's happening.

-R

 

[Richard]

OK, I just did a quick test with the current settings. I took three pictures and checked their file sizes and resolutions on the phone, after manually downloading them from the iCloud and after allowing them to automatically copy themselves onto my PC. Here's what I found.

The pictures on the phone were all roughly 7MB in size and exactly 4032 x 3024 in resolution.

Manually selected and downloaded from the iCloud to the PC via a web browser, they were all slightly smaller in file size (stripped metadata?) but of the same resolution. Essentially, they were the same as they were on the phone.

The same pictures which automatically copied themselves into my pictures folder on the PC were all about 1.7MB in size and reduced to a resolution of 2048 x 1536.

I can't account for why this behaviour is different from February, as I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was happening back then and to give a reliable report of it. Maybe a computer re-start or a software update along the way has confused things (it's certainly confused me). The situation is slightly better than it was, but annoyingly my preferred workflow still doesn't work. And it would be nice to get to the bottom of the problem having come this far.

-R

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

The settings on the iCloud client on the PC look like this:

View attachment 308180

I think I played with all of those settings back in February, without success.

I've always felt that the problem is between the phone and the iCloud rather than between the iCloud and the PC, for these reasons:

• This didn't happen with my previous iPhone (iPhone SE)
• I've tried two different methods to download pictures from the iCloud to the PC, and the issue happens in both cases.

After I typed that last line, I went back and checked what happens when I connect to my iCloud storage with a web browser, select a file and download it manually. Guess what? A full resolution file was downloaded

I need to experiment with this some more. Either I'm confusing myself or something has changed since February. I'll take some more photos and compare the two methods of downloading them from the iCloud to see what's happening.

-R

Unfortunately, as much as I like the integration of the native Apple environment, their Windows software has always been kinda crappy. I suspect it's at least somewhat intentional, but also you have 2 different software environments, and I can't imagine Apple employees like getting the "Apps for Windows" assignment! It's always felt a bit phoned-in. I used to use the iCloud client when I had a Windows machine, but it's just less than ideal. I find keeping it all in Photos and iCloud Photo Library a much more seamless and painless experience. It also doesn't help that you have to get Apple's software through the MS App Store, which is quite possibly the worst software distribution model I've ever used. I've had it refuse to install apps before, and some of the apps I have installed through it never worked, including software made by MS.

 

[Richard]

I've often had cause to regret owning the combination of an iPhone and a Windows PC. The frustrating part is when something which used to work nicely, suddenly stops. For example, Outlook on my PC used to synchronise with the calendar and contacts list on the iPhone, thanks to an Apple plug-in within Outlook. That stopped working about three years ago. Were Apple interested in investigating the problem as part of the "Applecare" I'd paid for? No, they were not. Now it seems that the bit of Apple code on the PC which copies photos from the iCloud to my pictures folder has decided that what I really want there is compressed versions of the pictures on the phone.

Maybe it'll sort itself out with a software revision along the way, but I'm not holding up much hope. Meanwhile, I'll carry on with ye olde USB cable.

-R