New Apple Photos iCloud Features in iOS 16 & macOS Ventura Explained
Apple’s Photos app received some of its biggest upgrades ever with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura. From shared photo libraries to smarter duplicate detection and powerful background-removal tools, these changes dramatically improve how photos sync, organize, and edit across Apple devices.
This guide breaks down the most important new features, explains how they work, and shows where they make a real difference in everyday photo management.
🎓 What You’ll Learn
• How iCloud Shared Photo Libraries work across Apple IDs
• Why Apple Photos can now feel like two libraries in one
• How duplicate photos are detected and merged
• New privacy protections for hidden and deleted photos
• How copy/paste edits sync across devices
• How background removal works in Photos, Preview, Safari, and Quick Look
👨👩👧👦 📸 iCloud Shared Photo Libraries Explained
Shared Photo Libraries let you create a second iCloud Photos library that multiple people can contribute to — with full-quality photos and videos.
Each person keeps:
• A Personal Library
• A Shared Library
You can view either library individually or combine both for a unified view. This works across Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and shared photos sync instantly between participants.
💾 ☁️ Using Shared Libraries to Extend iCloud Storage
Because each Apple ID can have its own iCloud plan, shared libraries can effectively give you up to 4TB of photo storage when used strategically.
This is especially useful for:
• Photographers separating personal and professional work
• Families consolidating shared memories
• Creators managing large image libraries
🔁 🧹 Finding and Merging Duplicate Photos
Apple Photos now automatically detects duplicates and places them in a Duplicates section.
You can:
• Review side-by-side duplicates
• Merge them safely
• Keep the highest-quality version automatically
This feature syncs across devices and finally reduces the need for third-party tools.
🔒 🗑️ Locking Hidden and Recently Deleted Photos
Hidden and Recently Deleted albums can now be protected with:
• Touch ID
• Face ID
• Device passcode
This adds an extra layer of privacy and prevents accidental deletions or unwanted access.
🎨 📋 Copy, Paste & Undo Photo Edits
You can now:
• Copy edits from one photo
• Paste them onto another
• Undo changes easily
These edits sync across Mac, iPhone, and iPad, making batch editing far faster and more consistent.
🏷️ 📝 Keyword and Caption Syncing
Keywords and captions now sync across devices, allowing:
• Better search results
• Smart Albums based on keywords
• Consistent metadata everywhere
While syncing arrived earlier, creating keywords is still Mac-only — a feature many users hope Apple adds to iPhone and iPad in the future.
✂️ 🧠 Remove Background & Copy Subject
Apple Photos can now detect and extract the main subject of a photo.
You can remove backgrounds or copy subjects from:
• Apple Photos
• Preview (Mac)
• Quick Look
• Safari
• iPhone and iPad
Results vary by image, but for quick cutouts, it’s impressively effective.
💡 When These Features Matter Most
These updates are especially useful if you:
• Use iCloud Photos heavily
• Share photos with family
• Manage large photo libraries
• Edit photos across multiple Apple devices