5 Ways to Transfer Large Videos from iPhone to Mac [Tested]

Some long video files are too large to send in a standard text message, so you might wonder what the simplest or fastest way is to transfer a large video to a nearby iPhone.

Normally, you can use AirDrop, iCloud Drive, or Mail Drop to send long videos recorded with your iPhone camera. In this article, we’ll explore several proven solutions. Meanwhile, we’ll also offer tips to help you ensure a smooth, successful data transfer.

What Should You Do Before Transferring Large Videos from iPhone to Mac?

Before transferring large videos from your iPhone to your Mac, make sure your Mac has enough available storage space. In particular, if you plan to transfer 4K videos, it’s recommended to have at least 20–50 GB of free space to ensure the process runs smoothly.

To quickly free up storage, you can use a Mac cleaning tool like BuhoCleaner. It can scan for junk files, caches, and large files in just a few clicks. You can then easily remove unnecessary files and free up valuable storage on your Mac.

Additionally, update both devices to the latest macOS or iOS. This will avoid compatibility glitches.

6 Ways to Quickly Transfer Large Videos from iPhone to Mac

You can transfer large videos from your iPhone to your Mac with or without a USB cable. This depends on your setup and speed requirement. In this part, we’ll demonstrate 6 ways to transfer large videos from your iPhone to your Mac.

1. Transfer Large Videos from iPhone to Mac via Image Capture

If you prefer a direct, speedy, and secure transfer, you can use a USB cable to move large video files. Via a wired connection, you can bypass slow Wi-Fi limitations and avoid AirDrop timeouts and compression issues with 4K video files. More importantly, when transferring large videos with Image Capture, you will not get any quality loss.

1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac using a USB or Lightning cable. Unlock the device and choose to trust the computer.
2. Open Image Capture in Applications, and select the large videos you want to transfer from the sidebar.
3. Choose a destination folder, and import at full USB 3 speeds.

Transfer Large Videos from iPhone to Mac via the Photos App

​Except for Image Capture, you can also use the built-in Photos app to export videos from your iPhone to your Mac. As two devices are connected via a USB cable, it’s far superior to wireless options like AirDrop. Also, it won’t limit video sizes or compress the video quality.

1. Unlock your iPhone. Connect your iPhone to your Mac via a USB cable.
2. Tap to trust the computer.
3. Launch the Photos app on your Mac.
4. Click your iPhone name under Devices, then select the videos you want to transfer to your Mac.
5. Click “Import X Selected” or “Import All New Items” to save videos to the Photo Library.

While saving large videos in full quality, you can also preserve the metadata.

3. Transfer Large Videos from iPhone to Mac via AirDrop

If you prefer not to transfer large videos using a USB cable, you can use AirDrop instead. AirDrop uses Bluetooth to detect nearby devices and establish a connection, then transfers files over Wi-Fi for a fast and stable experience. As long as the devices are within about 30 feet of each other, you can transfer files quickly and smoothly.

Because AirDrop uses Apple’s proprietary transfer protocol, it does not automatically compress photos or videos. This means your images and videos will be transferred in their original quality.

Unlike the Messages app, AirDrop does not impose strict file size limits. To use AirDrop, make sure both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are turned on. Then set the recipient Mac’s AirDrop visibility to “Contacts Only” or “Everyone.”

1. On your iPhone, open Photos.
2. Select the large videos you want to transfer and tap on Share and AirDrop.
3. Find and choose your Mac (ensure both devices are close, with Bluetooth/Wi-Fi on).
4. On your Mac, enable AirDrop in Finder. Set it to "Contacts Only" or "Everyone."
5. Accept the incoming videos and save them to Downloads.

4. Transfer Large Videos from iPhone to Mac with iCloud Drive

iCloud Drive is also a popular option when it comes to transferring large video files between different Apple devices. Upon signing in to the same Apple ID, you can sync data across different devices.

Notably, the individual files are capped at around 50GB. If you worked on higher storage plans like 2TB, you would succeed with larger ones up to 78 GB. Therefore, check the available storage quota before uploading and transferring the large videos. Additionally, use a stable and fast Wi-Fi, since a slow network might lead to timeouts on multi-gigabyte files.

1. Open Settings on your iPhone, and click on your name and iCloud.
2. On your Mac, navigate to System Settings, Apple ID, and iCloud Drive.
3. Enable iCloud Drive syncing on both your iPhone and Mac.
4. On your iPhone, open the Photos app and select large videos.
5. Tap Share, Save to Files, and choose the iCloud Drive folder.
6. On your Mac, open Finder and navigate to iCloud Drive. Click on the videos and download them to the local disk.

5. Transfer Large Videos from iPhone to Mac with Third-Party Tools

Last but not least, many third-party data transfer tools can help you transfer large video files from your iPhone to your Mac. Popular tools like 3uTools and iMazing allow you to export full-resolution 4K files directly from the Photos app or the DCIM folder.

Compared to iCloud Drive, it avoids cloud upload delays and storage quotas. As it organises video files into folders by date, you can easily find and transfer videos in bulk.

Conclusion

In this post, we’ve collected 5 ways to transfer large videos from iPhone to Mac without quality loss. You can either choose Apple’s built-in tool or use third-party software.

Before sending large videos to your Mac, use BuhoCleaner to free up more storage space. Also, if you plan to transfer large video files via AirDrop or iCloud Drive, make sure you have a stable, strong Wi-Fi connection.