Photos App on Mac Can't Sort by Photo Creation Date (only by import date)

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Level 1

4 points

Photos App on Mac Can't Sort by Photo Creation Date (only by import date)

I have quite a few problems with the Photos ecosystem, and if I was to take a guess, I'd imagine those problems are created on purpose as a conversion tool to have me signup for iCloud and eventually buy a new iPhone version. Fine. I get it.

But here are my questions and I'm just looking for the straight answer:

On iPhone XR (13.5.1)

I want to import my entire photo library from iPhone.

I use Albums to sort my photos on my phone. Why can't I import those same categorized iPhone Photos Albums into Photos on Mac? The only option I have is to import them all and then categorize them all over again.
Why are photos imported from iPhone into Photos (Mac) without retaining the date the photo was taken? Instead, Photos sorts all photos by Import Date -- not useful at all if you are looking to use the Photos app as a storage tool for the life of your photos across multiple iPhones, or even one iPhone.

I appreciate the feedback. Thanks.

From a 25 year Apple customer

iPhone XR

Posted on Sep 19, 2020 8:23 AM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

210,585 points

Sep 19, 2020 9:49 AM in response to mboerum

1 - Albums do not sync between mobile devices and Macs in Photos. Tell Apple what missing features you'd like restored or new features added in Photos via Feedback - Photos - Apple

2 - photos do retain their date taken EXIF metadata. It depends on which view you're using to view the photos as to how they are sorted. This screenshot shows the various sort options for different views:

If a photo isn't in the correct order in the Photos view find it in the Import view, Control (right) - click on it and select Show in All Photos from the contextual menu. That will show you where in the time line it is. Problems arise when a photo is taken in one time zone and then imported into a Photos library while in another time zone. That tends to set things askew.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

197,279 points

Sep 19, 2020 12:29 PM in response to mboerum

The only easy way to sync your photos library from the iPhone as it is - with all albums and adjustments you applied to your photos is to use iCloud Photos. All other methods will just transfer the photos and videos.

If you do not use iCloud Photos, the photos and videos will be transferred as they have been taken, with the correct capture date, but the albums will be missing.

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Photos App on Mac Can't Sort by Photo Creation Date (only by import date)

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