No, it’s not just you. Figuring out how to select pictures to share, organize or delete is tough enough in the revamped Photos app for iPhone and iPad, but selecting a whole batch of images at once is even trickier.
Sure, you could tap the “Select All” button, but there’s no obvious way to select a smaller series of images without tapping them one at a time. “Select all on screen” isn’t an option in the Photos app, for example, nor is trying to pinch the screen or tap two or more snapshots at once.
You can select a second batch of pictures in the iOS Photos app after selecting a first batch.
That said, there is a trick to selecting a bunch of images at once, but you’ll need to do it just right. In fact, it took me several tries to master the technique.
First, go to one of your photo albums, a “moment,” or a shared album, then tap the Select button in the top corner of the screen.
Next, starting from the first photo you want to select, tap, hold, then swipe to the left or right.
When you do, you’ll select every photo your fingertip swipes—and once you’ve started, you can swipe up or down, left or right. Move your fingertip to the very top or bottom of the screen and you’ll keep selecting as you scroll.
Now, try this; let go of the screen, scroll up or down a tiny bit, then tap and swipe left or right again to select a different batch of pictures.
Having trouble with the swipe-to-select trick? I was too until I figured something out: once you tap your first picture, you must swipe either right or left; swiping up or down won’t work.