How to Create a Photo Slideshow on Your iPhone

Your iPhone automatically creates Memories slideshows from your photos — and you can also make your own to share with family. Here's how both work.

In this guide (5 steps):

1.Find Your Memories Slideshows
2.Customize a Memory
3.Create a Manual Slideshow
4.Change Slideshow Settings
5.Share a Slideshow With Family

Find Your Memories Slideshows

~22s

Open the Photos app. Tap "For You" at the bottom of the screen. Scroll down to the "Memories" section. Tap any Memory to play it. It plays as a short video with music and transitions. While playing, you can tap to pause and see the individual photos.

Quick Tip

Tap the heart icon on a Memory to save it to your library as a video file you can share.

Customize a Memory

~15s

Open a Memory and tap the three-dot menu (⋯). Tap "Edit Memory." You can change the song playing, adjust the mood (which changes the editing style), change the title, add or remove photos, and set the duration. Tap Done when finished.

Create a Manual Slideshow

~18s

Open an album or go to your photo library. Tap "Select" in the top-right. Choose the photos you want in the slideshow (tap each one). Tap the share icon (square with arrow up) at the bottom left. Scroll down and tap "Slideshow." The photos play as a slideshow with music right on your screen.

Change Slideshow Settings

~15s

While a slideshow is playing, tap the screen to reveal controls. Tap the options icon (three lines or gear) to change the transition style (Origami, Dissolve, Wipe, etc.), change the music, and toggle shuffle on or off. These settings apply to the current playing slideshow.

Share a Slideshow With Family

~22s

To share a Memory as a video: play the Memory → tap the share icon → choose Messages, Mail, or any other share option. The video exports and attaches to your message. Recipients can watch it like any video — no app required on their end.

Quick Tip

For longer slideshows with many photos, the export can take a minute or two. Keep the screen on while it processes.

You Did It!

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Your iPhone Photos app can turn your photos into beautiful video slideshows automatically — or let you create your own. There are two main ways to create a slideshow: the automatic "Memories" feature and a manual slideshow you can customize and share.

Memories are the slideshows iPhone creates on its own, without you doing anything. The app analyzes your photos, groups related ones together (same trip, same people, same event), and creates short video montages with music. These appear in the "For You" tab in the Photos app. They feel like mini movies of moments from your life.

You can also create a manual slideshow any time from any group of photos. Open a photo album or select specific photos, tap the slideshow option, and let the phone play through them on screen. This is great for showing vacation photos to family at a gathering.

For sharing a more polished video, you can use Memories as a starting point and customize it: change the music, adjust the title, add or remove photos, and export the finished video to share via message or email.

A related feature is Featured Photos, which the Photos app surfaces in widgets on your home screen and lock screen — showing memorable photos from your library. The same AI that creates Memories decides which photos to feature, based on what it thinks you'd want to see and share.

These features use AI that runs entirely on your phone — Apple doesn't upload your personal photos to analyze them. The processing happens locally, so your photos stay private.

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