iOS 27 hatches on Monday September 14, 2026. Don't rush out and update. Read about the changes and look for what will impact your photography workflow.
One Of my favorite YouTubers is Ellen and her videos are great guides for many techniques for mobile devices. The latest 7 Things to Do Before You Update might be your first introduction to her channel.
Also, Dan Fox has posted Updated Photos App: New Features You're Missing to his YouTube Channel. This is a new channel for me, but other YouTubers recommended in the past will also have new reports.
There are a combination of elements to consider before you update, maybe it is time to clean house. Here is my approach. Two years ago I bought three SSDs, external solid-state-drives of the same size and brand. If not now, then soon: Organize your files into folders and copy to the three drives. One drive stays with you and is will be used to offload documents. Ask a family member or trusted neighbor to keep a drive off-site in case something happens to the original at home. The third drive should go to your bank safe deposit box or a safe out-of-town location. Ideally, you rotate these drives 3 or 4 times a year to keep up with important documents and images. On your Mac computer make sure your TimeMachine is running a daily backup. Also, you want to backup for devices to iCloud daily and just before you migrate to a new device.
- Look at your current device for the storage and available space.
- Look at your current Apple iCloud subscription and available space.
- Are you optimizing images? Settings > Apple Account > iCloud > Photos > Optimize iPhone Storage … also for iPad Storage.
- Look for big files, remember that 1 GB = 1,024 MB, and move big files to external storage drives and delete to free up space on your devices or in iCloud. Settings > Apple Account > iCloud > Drive > Manage Storage > Review and Delete Large Files (after saving the files to external SSD). First, find the GB sized files and note the names and locations then decide if you can move to external SSD or if you need to keep the files handy on-device.
- In the Photos app, videos take up more space, off-load to SSD when possible. Are you shooting in Live mode most often? This takes up more storage, consider turning it off and using sparingly.
- Newer iPhones can shoot at 48MP and in RAW. Assess if you need these pro features on all the time or just for special occasions -- especially if you are not editing your photos often.
- Assess whether you need to raise your iCloud+ subscription level and pay more but stress less.
