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Tracy asked: “I am now getting a message on my iPhone 7 Plus that storage is almost full. I don’t really know what I should do. I know you can’t put a thumb drive in there, so I’m not sure how to handle all my pictures and all of my other content and what is the best way to keep the storage or secure it somewhere else and lower my storage capacity.”
Tracy, the two biggest storage hogs on any iPhone tend to be both photographs and music. The easiest remedy is to take advantage of the Apple services ecosystem you joined when you purchased your iPhone. Turning on “iCloud Photo Library” in the “Photos and Camera” section of the Settings app will automatically migrate your entire photo library to Apple’s iCloud service, This includes video clips you’ve shot, too, another big user of space on your device. Make sure you select “Optimize iPhone Storage” while you’re on this screen. This will ensure only low-resolution thumbnails are kept on your phone. Hi-resolution original shots will be downloaded only when you want to view them. This will free up massive amounts of space on your iPhone.
As for your music library, consider turning on “iCloud Music Library”
As for your music library, consider turning on “iCloud Music Library” in the music section of the Settings app. This will treat your music the same way as photos — keeping them in the iCloud service and stream them back to your phone when you’d like to listen to them. The streaming starts almost immediately, so you won’t have to wait for the song to download completely before it begins to play.
There is a catch: you may have so many photos and videos, Tracy, that they most certainly will not all fit in the iCloud service’s free storage plan. But, never fear, Apple is always willing to take your money! They offer a 50 gigabyte plan that should be more than adequate for your needs, and it’s only 99 cents a month. Good news, eh?
More good news: Since you have an iPhone 7 Plus, you’ll be able to take advantage of iOS 11’s new photo file compression feature, cutting your storage needs up to 50%! iOS should be released this fall. Stay tuned “Into Tomorrow”, as we’ll let you know precisely when you’ll be able to get your hands on it!