Clever Laziness

On Large Photo Libraries

Juan Villela

Ben McCarthy on how having lots of photos is a fucking nightmare:

Most apps on iOS integrate with the system photo library directly, and trying to get images from other sources is a pain that requires copying and pasting, or duplicating images to the Files app, or is simply not possible. The situation on the Mac is better, for now, but I think the rise in Catalyst apps means more and more will only work with the system photo library.

Taking and sharing photos is a cornerstone of the iOS experience. Yet Apple has inundated us with features without ensuring the user experience is improved. The iPhone came out well over a decade ago. And most people have amassed vast photo libraries. Surely someone at Cupertino has a massive library too and has encountered many of the thorns in the Photos.

Or maybe I’m wrong and everyone at Apple only keeps their photos on Photos and never thinks about backups, sharing, moving data, and all the stuff common folk do daily. Either way, Photos should integrate with Files. It just makes sense. If Dropbox—arguably the worst piece of software currently in existence—can integrate with the Files app, I’m sure Photos can do a decent job and make everyone happy.

Also, if they could fix Family Sharing and add batch renaming to Files while they’re at it, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thank you.