In iOS 27, new Shared Albums you create in the Photos app retain full-resolution quality for the first time, but they now eat into your iCloud storage – and that includes any items added by other people invited to contribute.
Currently, photos in a Shared Album are automatically reduced to 2,048 pixels on the long edge (except for panoramic photos, which can be up to 5,400 pixels wide). In iOS 27 though, both retain their full resolution. But there comes the major trade-off.
For years now, Apple has allowed you to store up to 5,000 photos and videos in Shared Albums without impacting your iCloud storage limit. That's no longer the case in iOS 27. Perhaps more significantly, if you invite someone to a Shared Album and they add their own photos and videos to it, as the owner, this too will count against your iCloud storage limit.
Apple has also made it easier to invite people to Shared Albums. The company says friends and family can now join and collaborate on the web, even without an Apple Account or Apple device. That means Android and Windows users can contribute via iCloud.com, so the inclination for participants to add photos and videos is only likely to increase. Be careful who you invite...
On the plus side, iOS 27 introduces a free alternative – you can create temporary Shared Albums that allow users to collaborate on short-term projects without eating into your iCloud storage. But after 30 days, any photos and videos not saved to your library are deleted.
Fortunately, existing Shared Albums by default are unaffected by the changes, but the Photos app does include an "Upgrade Shared Album" option for those who want to improve the quality of its contents – albeit at the cost of iCloud storage.
Apple has yet to update its support documentation to reflect the upcoming changes.
iOS 27 is currently in public beta and is expected to be released in September when Apple launches new iPhone models with 5GB of free iCloud storage included.
