iOS 15 Custom Album Photo Organization Updates

Apple's iOS 15 introduced several practical enhancements to the Photos app, giving users greater control over how they sort, filter, and curate media within custom albums. These updates addressed long-standing limitations by allowing users to change default display orders, isolate specific types of media, and directly adjust image metadata to keep custom collections precise and well-organized.

Custom Sort Orders

Prior to iOS 15, custom albums defaulted to displaying media in the order it was added. With iOS 15, Apple introduced native sorting parameters for individual custom albums. Users can tap the ellipsis menu (three dots) in the top-right corner of any custom album and choose between:

  • Custom Order: Manually arrange photos and videos by dragging and dropping them into a preferred layout.
  • Oldest to Newest: Automatically organizes media chronologically starting with the earliest capture date.
  • Newest to Oldest: Reverses the chronological view so recently captured media appears at the top.

In-Album Filtering

To navigate crowded custom albums more efficiently, iOS 15 added contextual filtering controls. Located within the album's options menu, the filter tool lets users view specific subsets of their collection without leaving the album. Available filters include:

  • Favorites: Displays only media flagged with a heart.
  • Edited: Isolates images or videos that have had adjustments or crops applied.
  • Photos: Hides video files to show still imagery only.
  • Videos: Hides still imagery to show only video clips.

Metadata Adjustments via the Info Button

A major enhancement impacting album organization is the interactive Info button ("i"). When viewing an individual photo inside an album, users can access and edit critical metadata:

  • Date and Time Adjustments: Tapping "Adjust" next to the timestamp allows users to fix incorrect capture times, instantly correcting the chronological placement of the photo within sorted albums.
  • Location Editing: Users can add, change, or remove geographic location data directly from the photo interface.

Drag-and-Drop Media Selection

iOS 15 expanded system-wide drag-and-drop support, allowing users to select multiple photos within an album or library, hold them, and navigate out of the Photos app to drop them into other applications, or drag them directly into other custom albums in the sidebar on iPadOS and iOS.