Offloading a trip’s 2,000 RAWs to a $60 SSD beats renting iCloud forever. Here’s the exact flow.
The quick answer
Plug the SSD in (USB-C direct, or Lightning via adapter), open Files, select photos, Share > Save to Files > your drive. Verify by opening files from the drive, then delete from the phone and empty Recently Deleted. Back up irreplaceables first — backup guide.
Step 1: Prep the drive
- Format exFAT (Mac + Windows + iPhone) via Disk Utility on Mac. Skip NTFS — iPhone can’t write it.
- Create dated folders:
2026-08-trip-italy,2026-09-family. Future-you will thank present-you — same logic as organizing photos. - Plug in and confirm it appears in Files > Browse > Locations.
What this gives you: a shelf for bulk originals at zero monthly cost. What this does not give you: sync. SSD is an archive, not a second camera roll.
Step 2: Move in batches
- In Photos, Select a batch (one month or trip at a time — see trip cleanup).
- Tap Share > Save to Files, pick the SSD folder.
- Wait for the copy to finish before touching anything. Big 4K batches take minutes — see 4K sizes to estimate.
Step 3: Verify, then delete
- In Files, open 5-10 random files from the SSD — photos and at least one video end-to-end.
- Compare counts (Photos batch vs folder count).
- Delete from Photos, then Recently Deleted > Delete All (walkthrough).
Keep a second copy of irreplaceables (iCloud or another drive) before deleting. SSDs fail too.
The bottom line
SSD for bulk, phone for the best, iCloud for sync. Move the archive off, keep the winners close — and swipe-clean the rest with the camera roll method.