One way is to go to Settings> iCloud> Photos. I have since discovered a couple ways to check the progress of the downloads. However, this morning I checked and found that the pictures were indeed almost done downloading! I assumed that the full-res versions were not downloading. After about 12 hours I checked the iPad and every picture I randomly picked to view was still low-res (the high-res version would download when you opened the low-res version). However, the feature differences between the no-longer-updated iPhoto app the new Photos app on the Mac was beginning to be a problem.Īfter paying for the iCloud 200GB storage upgrade and uploading the pictures from my Mac into iCloud, I switched my iPad Photos settings over to iCloud and 'Download and Keep Originals' ( Settings> iCloud> Photos> iCloud Photo Library). I had so many problems I reverted back to iPhoto and continued to use iTunes to sync all my photos to my iPad and iPhone. I tried the migration one year ago when Photos first came out on the Mac. I have a fairly large Photo Library (~12,000 photos about 70GB) that I finally converted from iPhoto to Photos. The support person I spoke to seemed very certain of this. They maintained that this setting would cause the full-res version of the photo to stay on the device and be uploaded to iCloud. I contacted Apple Support and their response was that 'Download and Keep Originals' only applied to photos taken on the device. Eventually the photos are copied from iCloud to your iOS device if the 'Download and Keep Originals' setting is on. Thank you LACAllen! D espite what Apple Support told me you are correct.

Apple photos download photo