How to transfer music from iPhone to Mac - 5 easy ways

Looking to transfer your music from iPhone to Mac? We've got all the details you need! Check out our article for tips on transferring the iPhone music to your Mac.

Quick Answer: It may seem like a straightforward task to transfer music from an iPhone to a Mac, but with multiple methods to choose from, it's essential to select the most suitable one for your specific needs. Depending on the macOS of your Mac, you can use iTunes or an efficient tool iPhone Data Transfer to sync your iPhone music to a Mac. The latter also helps transfer music from a Mac to an iPhone. Or you can also use some wireless ways like Apple Music, AirDrop or Google Drive to get the job done.

You have different easy ways to get music from your iPhone to a Mac.

Chances are you prefer to play your songs on your iPhone in daily life, but sometimes you need to transfer the music from the iPhone to your Mac to free up space, create backups, or simply to enjoy your music in better sound quality.

In this article, we'll explore various methods to transfer the music on your iPhone to a Mac, including using Apple's native applications such as iTunes and Apple Music, as well as third-party solutions. Important considerations to keep in mind when using every transfer method are also mentioned.

Table of Contents

• Transfer iPhone music to a Mac with a cable (varies in macOS versions)
• Transfer music files from an iPhone to a Macbook wirelessly (3 ways)
• FAQs

Transfer iPhone music to a Mac with a cable (varies in macOS versions)

If you have a cable that works with iPhone, you can try to use it to transfer music from your iPhone to a Mac by different apps according to the macOS version your computer is running.

If your Mac's system is macOS Mojave and earlier, you can use iTunes to transfer the music files in your iPhone to your Mac. But if not, there's also another alternative for you despite the system version, and that is iPhone Data Transfer.

iTunes - For macOS Mojave and earlier

iTunes has been a popular option to transferring music from an iPhone to a PC, but did you know it can also be used to import your iPhone songs to a Mac? This is particularly useful if you're running an older version of a Mac like macOS Mojave or earlier.

Here's another popular tutorial about iPhone music transfer: How to transfer music from iTunes to iPhone

Step 1. Plug your iPhone into your Mac by a USB cable, and select Trust on the iPhone if a related message pops up.

Step 2. Launch iTunes on your Mac and check if it's been updated to the latest version from Help > Check.

Step 3. Go to Account > Authorizations > Authorize This Computer > Authorize to allow the Mac to access your iPhone.

Step 4. Click File > Devices > Transfer Purchases from "your iPhone name" to import your purchased music to your Mac.

However, there are some drawbacks to using iTunes, such as its limitations to only transferring purchased music from the iTunes Store and its potential to be time-consuming if you have a large number of songs to upload.

And it's important to note that you can't find iTunes in macOS Catalina and later versions. So you'll need to use its replacement, the Music app or iPhone Data Transfer on newer systems to transfer music.

iPhone Data Transfer - For all macOS versions

If you're looking for a highly efficient tool to transfer your tunes between your iPhone and Mac in both directions, iPhone Data Transfer is an excellent choice. This easy-to-use program is compatible with all versions of macOS systems and can transfer a multitude of songs in just a few seconds, which is a marked improvement over iTunes. 

But that's not all. With iPhone Data Transfer, you can also move your songs, create playlists, remove duplicate tunes, and edit the music metadata to better organize your music files. It even includes a native player for you to listen to your music and an option to create ringtones.

With its numerous features and intuitive interface, iPhone Data Transfer is a must-have tool for anyone looking to seamlessly transfer their music from their iPhone to their Mac.

• Quickly transfer music, videos, photos, files, contacts or messages in bulk without iTunes between all models of iPhone and Mac/Macbook in both directions
• Automatically convert incompatible iPhone music files into a format that is playable on Mac
• Transfer sound tracks in the format of M4A, MP3, AAC, etc. directly from iPhone to Mac
• Help manage music like moving songs, creating playlists, editing ID3 tags for music, etc.
• Feature to make ringtones for iPhone
• Ability to play your music before the transfer
• Streamlined layout

Here's how to transfer songs in the iPhone to Mac using iPhone Data Transfer.

Step 1: Build the connection between your iPhone and your Mac

Use a cable to connect your iPhone with your macOS computer, then tap Trust on your iPhone and enter your lock screen passcode. Soon the software will recognize your iPhone and show its information on the Home page.

Step 2: Select the music file to transfer

Click the Music tab on the left sidebar and you'll see a list of all your iPhone music. Here you can choose the music you want to transfer by hitting the square box next to the files.

Tip: You can click the pencil icon below Edit Info to modify the name, artist, album and genre of the corresponding sound track.

Step 3: Export your selected music to Mac

After selection, click the Computer icon and then Export to Mac. Next, select a folder to import your tracks to, and hit Open to start the transfer.

Transfer music files from an iPhone to a Macbook wirelessly (3 ways)

Cannot find a cable around you? Don't worry, you can still transfer your music from your iPhone to your Mac without a cable. Below you'll learn about 3 ways to do it wirelessly.

• Apple Music allows its users to sync music from iPhone to Macbook automatically and wirelessly as long as you pay to subscribe and finish certain set-up.
• Google Drive is a well-known cloud storage service which you can use to save and sync your favorite tunes between iPhone and Mac.
• No matter if you download some songs on the Internet or record audio from YouTube video, you can AirDrop all the various sound tracks files from your iPhone to a Mac.

Tip: If you need to record screen and audio on your computer, you can give a try on the expert and intuitive capturing tool, the AppGeeker Screen Recorder.

Use Apple Music to sync the songs from iPhone to Mac

Without the need for any additional software, Apple Music provides a seamless and convenient solution for syncing music from iPhone to Mac. It allows you to automatically sync purchased music across all your Apple devices, including your iPhone and Mac. Moreover, 100,000 songs at most can be synced to your music library in the cloud.

But it's worth noting that Apple Music is a paid service, so you'll need to subscribe to it for the syncing feature. Besides, in this way, only purchased music can be transferred from your iPhone to your Mac. To transfer non-purchased songs, you can resort to another transfer tool like the AppGeeker iPhone Data Transfer instead.

Tip: Make sure you've signed into the same Apple ID account on both your iPhone and Mac before the music transfer. Otherwise, the syncing can go wrong and you'll probably not get your wanted songs on the Mac.

Step 1. Unlock your iPhone, then open Settings to select Music and enable iCloud Music Library or Sync Library.

Step 2. Open the Music app on your Mac and log in after clicking Account in the upper left corner on the screen.

Step 3. Go to Music > Settings > General and activate Sync Library in the Mac's Music app. Automatically, purchased tracks on your iPhone will be transferred to your Mac after a while.

Read also: How to transfer music from laptop to iPhone

Import music from an iPhone to a Mac by Google Drive

Google Drive is a cloud-based storage service that can sync music between iPhone and Mac. Its greatest advantage is the ability to share music files across multiple devices and platforms, making it a great option for those who have limited storage space on their devices. However, organizing audio files on Google Drive can be challenging as it does not provide a dedicated music player or built-in music managing tools.

To transfer music from iPhone to Mac using Google Drive, first, download and install the Google Drive app on your iPhone. Then, upload the music files to your Google Drive account by clicking the Upload button and selecting the tracks. Next, log into the Google Drive website using the same account on your Mac's browser and download the music files to your computer.

Note:

• Google Drive provides users with 15 GB of free storage, which can quickly fill up if you have a large music library. If you want a larger storage space, you'll have to pay for the upgrade.

Transfer music from iPhone to Macbook for free via AirDrop

You still have another free way to transfer music between iPhone and Mac, and that is AirDrop. It is a built-in feature on iOS devices that enables quick and easy music transfer without a cable required. And it basically uses Bluetooth to establish a direct connection between the devices for fast transfer.

Nevertheless, AirDrop can be slow for sending a large number of music files, and there's a chance that it may fail in the end if you selected too many songs once at a time.

• Activate AirDrop on iPhone: Open Settings on your iPhone, and click General > AirDrop > Everyone to turn on AirDrop.

• Enable AirDrop on Mac: Go to Control Center on your Mac, and click AirDrop to turn it on.
• AirDrop your music to Mac: Long press the music file on your iPhone and tap Share, then select AirDrop and tap your Mac name to transfer the audio.
• Receive the music on Mac: Select Accept from the pop-up on your Mac to transfer the music.

When the music transfer is done, you can turn off the AirDrop feature on your iPhone and Mac to save power.

FAQs

1. What's the easiest way to transfer a vast array of music from my iPhone to my Mac?

The AppGeeker iPhone Data Transfer is a go-to option if you need to transfer your music files in bulk efficiently. Its user-friendly interface allows for easy navigation, and the transfer speed is lightning-fast, even for large music collections. With just a few clicks, you can select and transfer all of your music files, including non-purchased tracks, to your Mac in a matter of seconds.

2. How to transfer music from my iPhone to my Mac if I don't have a USB cable?

If you don't have a USB cable, you can sync music from your iPhone to your Mac wirelessly using Apple Music or AirDrop.

For Apple Music, you need to have an active subscription to sync the music between devices. But in terms of AirDrop, it is completely free and you can even transfer music files downloaded from different apps or websites besides the Music app.

3. Can I transfer music from a Mac to an iPhone?

There are 4 quick ways to transfer music from Mac to iPhone:

• Finder
• The AppGeeker iPhone Data Transfer
• Apple Music
• AirDrop