How to Compress Your iPhone Photos +Bonus Charge Your iPhone Faster

1. Import Photos to iPhoto

Connect your iPhone to your Mac and open iPhoto. Import all your iPhone photos to a new folder in the software (I labelled mine "iPhone 4S"). Select all the photos within that folder.

2. Export Photos

Select File > Export. Under "Size," click "Custom." A drop-down box will appear. Choose the reduced file size you would like to apply to each photo.

Select "Export" and save to a file you have created on your computer. I labeled mine "iPhone photos."

3. Export Progress

A bar will appear indicating export progress.

4. Upload to Flickr

After you've successfully exported your photos to a file on your computer, head to Flickr.

On the top task bar, you'll find an option labelled "Upload." Click it.

Note: Before uploading photos that have been on your iPhone, consider whether you want to adjust your privacy settings. You may want to keep your Photostream or certain sets private.

5. Your Photos Are Loading

Once you've selected which photos to upload (maximum 200 photos per batch), you can watch them load.

Click the blue "Upload 200 photos" button on the upper-right of the screen. This will port the photos to your Flickr Photostream.

6. Almost Done!

A progress bar indicates how long you have to wait. When the upload has finished, Flickr will automatically navigate you back to Photostream to peruse your new collection.



When preparing to upgrade to a new phone or tablet, you might have some housecleaning to do. How do you go about saving the data and memories from a device you've operated for months or years?

If you choose to save your iPhone photos to the cloud, you have several options. iCloud is a great plan, but it only offers 5GB of free cloud storage. If you're like me, your phone contains 14.2 GB of photos and video (some photos are between 2 and 3MB each — so iCloud won't cover all of your data. You may prefer Dropbox, but again, the service only offers an initial 2GB of free space before you need to pay for upgrades. You might even consider Evernote, but it's not the greatest choice for bulk uploads and it only offers 60MB of free storage per month.

Personally, my choice was Flickr, which offers users 1 TB (that's terabyte) of free media storage. For context, I have uploaded 798 photos to Flickr (around 800 pixels wide each) and I've only breached 0.05% of my Flickr maximum storage.

Depending how many iOS photos you want to save to the cloud, you may consider compressing that media to squeeze in below those cloud storage maximums — or to make uploading quicker. To learn how, follow our walkthrough in the gallery above.

The second half of the gallery is a bonus. If you choose to upload your newly compressed iPhone photos to Flickr, follow this walkthrough. Note: You can also upload to Flickr straight from iPhoto, but without compressing, the process takes much longer.

+Bonus

How to Charge Your iPhone Faster

Complaining about your smartphone's short battery life or the amount of time it takes to charge up are classic examples of the first world problems that can result in impatience and mild irritability.

While we've previously looked at ways in which you can improve your iPhone's battery life, we're now taking a look at how you can make the darn thing charge a bit faster.

There's no secret sauce, unfortunately, but there are a few tips and tricks you can employ to get your cell's battery from flat to full in less time. Have a read of our suggestions below.

Turn It Off

If you want your iPhone to charge faster, anecdotal evidence suggests turning it off — so it's not using any power while it's juicing up — will cut down charge times.

If you don't want to hit the power button, then putting your handset in "Airplane Mode" (from the "Settings" menu) will stop your phone looking for cellular and Wi-Fi signals and can speed up the process.

At the very least, try not to use your phone while it's on charge. Lock the screen by hitting the sleep/wake button on the top right of your handset to give it a break while it recharges.

Use a Wall Charger

Your iPhone will charge fastest from a power outlet, rather than via a USB port. Apple's official advice "for the quickest charge" is to "connect the device to a power outlet using the USB cable that came with the device and an Apple USB power adapter."

Keep It Cool

Did you know that a battery's ability to hold a charge is significantly degraded by extreme temperatures?

Apple states that "heat will degrade your battery's performance the most" and advises that you "keep your iPhone out of the sun or a hot car (including the glove box)."

Certain cases and covers that trap heat can also be problematic. If your iPhone gets hot while you charge it in a case, then you should notice a difference if you remove it prior to charging.

The official advice is to keep your iPhone as near room temperature (22 degrees Centigrade or 72 degrees Farenheit) as possible.

Speed Up USB Charges

If USB charging is your only option, there are ways to speed this process up.

If you're looking for a fast charge, don't sync your iPhone at the same time. It's also advisable to remove all other USB devices that might be drawing power.

Don't let your computer go into standby or hibernation mode while you're trying to juice up your phone. This might actually drain your handset's power, and could stop the charging process, in some cases

Battery Maintenance

Finally, Apple offers some advice about how to properly maintain your iPhone's battery.

"For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down)."