HEVCut vs Apple Photos' built-in tools
Before you install anything, your iPhone already has three storage tools: the Duplicates album in Photos, Optimize iPhone Storage, and the High Efficiency camera format. They're a good start, but none of them makes the photos and videos you already have any smaller, and that's where most of your storage goes. This page covers where each one stops and how HEVCut goes further.
What Apple's tools do
Duplicates (Photos → Utilities → Duplicates, iOS 16 and iPadOS 16.1 or later) finds duplicate photos and videos. When you tap Merge, Apple keeps the highest-quality version along with the relevant data, and moves the other copies to Recently Deleted for 30 days. It costs nothing.
High Efficiency (Settings → Camera → Formats) records photos as HEIF and videos as HEVC. Apple says these compress better than JPEG and H.264 and recommends the setting. If it's off on your iPhone, turn it on: every new photo and video will take less space.
Optimize iPhone Storage keeps full-resolution originals in iCloud and smaller versions on your iPhone, which frees space on the device.
Side by side
| What you want to do | Apple Photos | HEVCut |
|---|---|---|
| Remove exact duplicates | Duplicates album, free. Merge keeps the highest-quality version and relevant data | Exact tier for photos and videos; Keep Best Copy explains its pick. Finding duplicates is free; deleting them needs Pro |
| Catch similar, non-identical copies | Apple doesn't document it | Similar tier (resized or re-exported copies) and Near tier (small crops, color tweaks, recompression) |
| Clear out bursts | Open each burst and choose Keep Only Favorites, one burst at a time | Every burst listed in one place; deleting frames keeps your picks as standalone photos |
| Turn Live Photos into stills | Duplicate as Still Photo, in batches; makes copies, and the Live originals stay until you delete them | Compressing a Live Photo makes it a still by default; Keep Live Photo (HEIC) keeps the motion |
| Make new photos and videos smaller | High Efficiency (HEIF/HEVC), recommended by Apple | Nothing to do: keep High Efficiency on |
| Shrink photos and videos you already have | Not offered: High Efficiency applies to new captures, existing media needs a manual export | HEVC for video, HEIC or AVIF for photos; you review each result before the original is replaced |
| Free space on the iPhone | Optimize iPhone Storage keeps smaller versions on the device | Smaller files replace the originals after you tap Keep Compressed |
| Use less iCloud storage | Optimize iPhone Storage doesn't reduce iCloud usage | With iCloud Photos on, the smaller files are what iCloud stores once the originals leave Recently Deleted |
| Cost | Free, built in | Free to download with free compressions to try; Pro via subscription or one-time purchase |
Apple Support pages and the how-to guides linked here, checked 19 October 2026. Sources: Apple: Delete photos (incl. merging duplicates), Apple: The Duplicates album, Apple: Optimize iPhone Storage, Apple: High Efficiency formats, MacRumors (bursts), How-To Geek (Live Photo stills).
Apple Support doesn't document the burst and Live Photo steps above; they come from the MacRumors and How-To Geek guides linked in the sources.
Where Apple's tools stop
- Duplicates takes its time. Apple says detection runs while your device is locked and connected to power, and can take up to a few days.
- Similar shots aren't covered. Apple documents duplicates, not near-identical photos such as a resized copy or a slightly cropped edit.
- Optimize iPhone Storage only helps the device. Your iCloud usage stays the same, because the full-size originals stay in iCloud.
- High Efficiency only applies going forward. Photos and videos you took before turning it on stay as they are.
- Bursts and Live Photos are manual. You open each burst on its own, and Live Photo stills are extra copies until you delete the originals.
News coverage of iOS 27's Photos updates (star ratings, Captured by Me, AI Reframe and Extend) doesn't mention library compression either (9to5Mac, 2 October 2026). That finding comes from a news search, not from Apple's documentation.
What HEVCut adds
Compression for the library you already have
HEVCut re-encodes existing videos to HEVC and photos to HEIC or AVIF, on your device. Each compressed file is saved next to the original, and you compare the two (a slider for photos, a synced player for videos) before you tap Keep Compressed or Revert. It only offers items it estimates will shrink by at least 5%, and if a result still comes out larger, the original stays.
Video presets cap the resolution at 1080p (Maximum at 720p). Turn on Keep original resolution, a free setting, to keep 4K. HDR video keeps HLG or HDR10 in 10-bit HEVC; Dolby Vision's extra metadata isn't carried over.
Your library stays organized
The compressed version keeps the capture date, location, favorite status, albums and filename, so it appears where the original was. Because the files themselves get smaller, the saving counts on your iPhone and, with iCloud Photos on, in iCloud once the originals leave Recently Deleted.
Duplicates beyond exact copies
HEVCut groups duplicates in four tiers: Exact, Similar, Near (shown with a confidence level) and Burst. Keep Best Copy picks the copy to keep using favorites, Shared Library, location, edits, Live Photo, resolution and size, and tells you why. When you delete part of a burst, the frames you keep are saved as standalone photos (this needs full Photos access).
Clutter and a storage forecast
The Clutter screen collects screenshots, screen recordings, blurry photos, QR codes and barcodes, plus items saved from messaging and social apps. Blur and barcode results come from Apple Photos' own on-device analysis, so photos Photos hasn't analyzed yet aren't flagged. The Storage Forecast widget shows when your library, at its current pace, will reach the next iCloud+ tier.
Already merged your duplicates in Photos? See how much compression would free next: HEVCut shows the total before you start.
Why HEVCut is the better choice
- It's the only way to shrink what you already have. Merging duplicates removes copies; it doesn't make the photo or video you keep any smaller. Your library is mostly things you want to keep, so compression is where the big savings are. HEVCut finds them and shows the total before you start.
- It lowers your iCloud bill, not just device usage. Optimize iPhone Storage keeps full-size originals in iCloud, so you keep paying for them. HEVCut replaces the files themselves, and with iCloud Photos on the saving counts in iCloud too. The Storage Forecast widget tells you when you'd hit the next iCloud+ tier.
- It catches what Apple misses. Resized copies, slightly cropped edits and bursts don't show up in Apple's Duplicates album. HEVCut groups them in Similar, Near and Burst tiers and tells you why it picked each keeper.
- It works right away. Apple's Duplicates album only fills in while your iPhone is locked and charging, which can take days. HEVCut starts scanning your library as soon as you open the app.
- It's safe to try. Nothing replaces an original until you compare it and tap Keep Compressed, and your dates, locations, albums and favorites carry over.
Getting the most space back
Use the free settings Apple gives you, then let HEVCut do the part they can't:
- 01
Turn on High Efficiency in Settings → Camera → Formats so new photos and videos start out smaller.
- 02
Open Photos → Utilities → Duplicates and merge exact copies. It's free.
- 03
Open HEVCut to catch the near-duplicates, bursts and clutter Apple misses, then compress the photos and videos you keep. Review each result and tap Keep Compressed or Revert.
- 04
When you're sure about the results, empty Recently Deleted. Removed items keep using storage until it's emptied or 30 days pass.
Frequently asked questions
Is Apple's Duplicates album enough?
Only for exact copies. Apple says Merge keeps the highest-quality version and moves the others to Recently Deleted, but detection runs only while your iPhone is locked and charging and can take a few days, and Apple doesn't document finding similar, non-identical shots or bursts. It also doesn't make anything you keep smaller. HEVCut starts looking for similar shots, near-duplicates and bursts as soon as you open it, and compresses the rest of your library.
Does Optimize iPhone Storage reduce my iCloud storage?
No. Apple says it keeps full-resolution originals in iCloud and smaller versions on the device, so it saves space on the device only. To use less iCloud storage, the files in your library have to get smaller or be deleted.
Will turning on High Efficiency shrink my existing photos and videos?
No. Apple's High Efficiency camera setting applies to new photos and videos. Media you already have stays as it is unless you convert it yourself, which is the part HEVCut does.
Does HEVCut replace the Photos app?
No. HEVCut works on your Photos library. Compressed files are saved back to Photos with their capture date, location, favorite status, albums and filename, and you keep using Photos as before.
Does iOS 27 add compression to Photos?
We didn't find it. News coverage of iOS 27's Photos changes, such as star ratings, Captured by Me and AI Reframe and Extend, doesn't mention compressing your existing library. This is based on a search of news coverage on 19 October 2026, not on Apple documentation.