iPhone 15 Sync Back up size and Mac HD space???

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Jono2024 Author

Level 1

4 points

iPhone 15 Sync Back up size and Mac HD space???

Hi all.

Recently I synced my entire music library to my iPhone 15 Pro. About 200GB. It occurred to my when the phone is backing up the contents of my phone it creates a back up file in User>NAME>Library>Application Suppot>Mobile Sync>Backup>and then a file with a whole bunch of numbers. MY MacBook Pro 2018 only has a 500GB HD. My iPhone 15 has a 256GB capacity which is over 3/4 to capacity.

My question: Are the backups Sym Links to the files themselves? The file size of the Back up file mentioned above is only ~5.2GB. Far smaller than all the stuff that is on my phone including photos, music, etc.

I'm just concerned that due to the files on my iPhone my Mac HD is going to file up with those back ups. Especially if I get a larger capacity iPhone some day.

Thanks for your help. I look forward. Jonathan

iPhone 15 Pro Max, iOS 18

Posted on Nov 24, 2024 10:39 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 24, 2024 6:33 PM in response to Jono2024

No matter whether your backup is stored on iTunes or iCloud, it will only display as a compressed file size. This means that the actual size of your data may be larger than what is shown in the backup interface, as the backup system compresses the file to save space during storage.

Watch the iTunes BackUp Size on a GIF below

Note this is a compressed backup size. (During restoration it will expand)

See the GIF which shows as 28.03 GB used space on iPhone 6 and the Backup Size id 5.26GB

Same is true for iCloud Backup too. What you see the size is compressed Size

iCloud backup size on iCloud is 3.5 GB for the same iPhone same date that is because iCloud backup doesn’t include information that are synced and stored in iCloud, like Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, Mail, Notes, Voice Memos, shared photos, iCloud Photos*, Health data, call history, and files you store in iCloud Drive.

*-If you had turned on iCloud Photos, your content is automatically stored in iCloud.

Watch the GIF below

What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Jono2024 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 26, 2024 10:38 AM in response to SravanKrA

SravanKrA. Thanks you so much for that detailed information. Sorry it took me so long to get back. Would you happen to know if the compression is lossless? My guess is that it is lossless. It's also interesting that Apple doesn't have a chart of some sort that explains if backing up to iCloud a 200GB (as an example) the backup will only take up 6GB of iCloud storage space. No pun intended, it's not Apples to Apples. I'll have to re-read your post to make sure I understand all this. Thanks for your help! Jonathan

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