Technologies

iPhone Storage Saver Tip: Delete Identical Photos From iCloud Right Now

We all love capturing memories, but duplicate photos are a storage hog for iPhone users. Here’s how to delete the doubles.

Taking a photo that encapsulates a core memory, or even one that details the more mundane moments of life, is something nearly everyone loves to do.

However, most of us take the same shot several times before getting the «right» image — and then we promptly forget to delete the extras. This results in a slew of duplicate images that hog precious storage space on our iPhone or in iCloud.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way around this issue that is built into your iPhone if you have iOS 16 or later.

Apple introduced its «duplicate detection» feature in 2022, and it works just as its name suggests. The tool uses on-device AI to identify identical images and aggregate them in an easy-to-find album in the Photos app. Apple says the iPhone classifies duplicates not only as exact copies, but also as photos that appear to be the same but have unique resolutions, file formats, or other slight differences.

Read More: Best iPhone of 2023

Make sure to turn on iCloud syncing before going through the step-by-step process below.

Here’s how to use the iPhone’s built-in tool to free up storage space:

Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
Tap on the Albums tab at the bottom of the screen.
Scroll down to the Utilities section and tap Duplicates. This is where you can view all the duplicate photos on your iPhone and delete them, either individually or at once.
For the latter option, tap Select in the top right corner.
Tap Select All to merge all the duplicate photos your iPhone detects and delete them at the same time.
If you want to delete duplicates individually, scroll up and tap Merge on your chosen selection of duplicate images. Then tap Merge [number] Copies to delete duplicates. Go down the line and repeat this step for all the identical photos you want to delete.

Merging keeps the best version of the photo in your library. The duplicates are moved to the Recently Deleted album.

Read More: No iOS 17? No Worries. Check Out the Coolest Hidden Features of iOS 16

If you found this iOS 16 feature helpful, check out CNET’s cheat sheet for iOS 17. And for more advice on how to save space, read our full list of tips for clearing your iPhone’s storage.

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Apple’s New Smart Home Display Delayed Until Fall Over Siri Issues

It has been nearly a year and a half since the company announced the AI-powered product.

Your home could get smarter with Apple’s Siri, but it will have to wait a few more months. Bloomberg reported the iPad-shaped AI home hub won’t be ready until September, several months after the company was hoping to launch it this spring. Apple engineers first need to complete work on a new and improved Siri assistant for the home device, code-named J490, according to Bloomberg.

Apple was hoping to release J490 this month, along with a slew of other new devices, including the iPhone 17e, MacBook Neo, MacBook Air M5, new Pro models, and iPad Air M4. Apple first teased the smart home display in November 2024.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Siri is Apple’s virtual assistant that uses voice recognition and AI to fulfill a variety of tasks and commands, along with intriguing uses. You might use Siri to find your iPhone — «Hey Siri, where are you?» — or to hear the weather forecast — «Siri, what will the weather be today?» Siri is available on iPhones, MacBooks and iPads. It was launched in 2011 as a feature of the iPhone 4S.

As CNET reported last month, Apple engineers have struggled to push the upgraded Siri assistant out the door. It isn’t fast enough, gets confused by complex commands and doesn’t interact well with other Apple AI models. The company is also wrestling with how much personal data to access to inform the AI, and the new Siri is not yet able to complete in-app tasks, such as finding a photo and posting it to socials, all with one command.

It has been nearly two years since Apple announced that it would give Siri a major upgrade. In the meantime, competitors like Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home have entered the marketplace.

Tech tester Jon Rettinger, whose YouTube channel has 1.66 million subscribers, says the repeated delays in upgrading Siri can «erode» confidence in Apple’s ability to keep up in the AI race.

«Apple as a whole is still one of the strongest companies on the planet. But their AI play is clearly the weakest link in an otherwise very strong chain,» Rettinger told CNET.

Rettinger said he has had issues getting Siri to complete basic commands, such as setting two alarms at the same time, and that it’s a bit of «a mess» right now.

«Having said that, the iPhone has such massive market penetration that I’m not sure it will actually matter in the end. Which is kind of wild when you think about it,» Rettinger said.

Facial recognition for residents

The hardware for the forthcoming smart home display has already been finished. It resembles an iPad and can be either attached to a wall or rest on a half-domed-shaped base, the Bloomberg report said.

The device will be equipped with facial recognition, so when residents walk up to it, they will be shown personalized data such as music preferences, news headlines, appointments, reminders, tasks and so on.

The screen interface will include a bunch of circular app icons, similar to the display on an Apple Watch. The Bloomberg report said the smart home display will be the first of several home devices by Apple. Future products include a tabletop robotic limb with a 9-inch screen, a smart security camera and a Face ID-enabled smart doorbell.