How to do it
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Check what actually fills your iPhone
Open Settings, tap General, then tap iPhone Storage. You’ll see how much is left and how much each app uses. If Photos isn’t the biggest, deleting photos won’t get you to 10 GB.
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Go for the big items first
A few large videos can free more space than hundreds of photos. Look at your largest videos, and your Live Photos, before photos.
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Delete for real
Photos and videos go to Recently Deleted and stay for 30 days. Delete them there too if you need the space now, then check iPhone Storage again.
How big is a photo, a Live Photo, and a burst?
These sizes are estimates from third-party guides, and your own files will differ.
| Item | Rough size | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 12 MP HEIC photo | about 2 MB | CleverFiles |
| Live Photo | 5 to 9 MB (a standard photo is 2 to 3 MB) | Tidy |
| Burst of 30 frames | about 90 MB | Kept |
| 1 minute of 4K 60 fps video | roughly 400 MB | Compresto |
CleverFiles puts it at roughly 4,000 to 5,000 photos on average to free 10 GB (CleverFiles).
Why did deleting hundreds of photos barely change anything?
Because a few hundred photos at about 2 MB each add up to roughly 1 GB at most. Also, deleted photos stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days (Apple), so the space doesn’t come back until they’re deleted for good.
Where does PicWay help?
In PicWay, scroll down the Memories tab to More ways to tidy, tap View all, then open Large videos under Smart tidy. Space only frees up once you delete the original.
Is there another way to free up space without deleting?
Yes. When you use iCloud Photos, Optimize iPhone Storage keeps full-resolution versions in iCloud and smaller copies on your iPhone (Apple). You need enough iCloud storage for that.