Apple Shares New 'The Archives' iPhone Ad Focusing on Memories Feature in Photos App - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Shares New 'The Archives' iPhone Ad Focusing on Memories Feature in Photos App

Apple today continued on with its line of iPhone 7 advertisements, introducing a new spot called "The Archives," which focuses on the Memories feature that's available in the Photos app.

In the video, available on YouTube, an archivist is shown working in a vast photo archive, carefully selecting and then pasting together physical versions of Live Photos and videos into a montage that's first shown on a projector and then transferred to the iPhone 7.


"Her Dreams" by Luca D'Alberto and "Unchained Melody" by Lykke Li accompany the video, as does the tagline that Apple's been using for all of its recent ads, "practically magic."

Apple has done several ads in this series that focus on the photographic capabilities of the iPhone 7, including "The City" and "Take Mine," but this is the first ad that has highlighted the Memories feature that's baked into iOS. Memories aggregates photos and videos around selected dates, locations, and people, turning them into slideshows accompanied by music.

Today's ad is also accompanied by a simple tutorial video that outlines how to use the Memories feature, which joins many other iPhone 7 photography tutorials that Apple has been producing since May.


Apple's Memories feature is set to see a major improvement in iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, gaining support for a range of new categories including pets, babies, outdoor activities, performances, weddings, birthdays, and sporting events.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Far Out Banner

NASA Shares Photos Shot on iPhone 17 Pro Max During Artemis II Mission to the Moon

Sunday April 5, 2026 6:39 pm PDT by
NASA has shared three incredible photos shot on the iPhone 17 Pro Max by astronauts during the Artemis II mission to the Moon. Shot on iPhone 17 Pro Max (Wiseman) In February, NASA announced that the iPhone had been fully qualified for extended use in orbit, with reports indicating that each of the four crew members aboard the Orion are equipped with an iPhone 17 Pro Max for personal photos...
iphone 17 pro orange

Apple Highlights Photos Shot on iPhone During NASA's Mission to Moon

Saturday April 11, 2026 8:17 am PDT by
As we previously reported, astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft used the iPhone 17 Pro Max to take selfies of themselves with the Earth in the background during the Artemis II mission around the far side of the Moon last week. Now that the crew members have safely returned to Earth, Apple's CEO Tim Cook and marketing chief Greg Joswiak have both turned to social media to congratulate...
macworld iphone 18 pro colors

iPhone 18 Pro's Four Rumored Colors Revealed, Including 'Dark Cherry'

Friday April 17, 2026 3:50 am PDT by
A source said to be familiar with Apple's supply chain today revealed the color options Apple is planning for the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the upcoming foldable iPhone. Image via Macworld. The information comes from Macworld, which says the signature new color for this year's Pro models will be Dark Cherry, a deep wine-like red. While other sources had previously reported on a...

Top Rated Comments

Nimoy Avatar
115 months ago
Brilliant ad! Amazing production for a relatively minor software feature.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gsmornot Avatar
115 months ago
In the end and as you age you find this is all that really matters.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
115 months ago
I like the memories functionality.
Me too.

With iCloud now offering 2 TB for $9.99/month, and iOS 11 bringing Family Sharing, I recommend iCloud Photo Library highly to anyone with a sizable photo library. It brings entirely new level of enjoyment out of your photos and videos.

Now, if only Apple would bring Family Sharing to iCloud Photo Library (e.g., husband and wife using a single library).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
115 months ago
Pretty feel-tastic advert. Good job.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scrapesleon Avatar
115 months ago
song was actually heartbreaking
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
winglet69 Avatar
115 months ago
Does this mean that Photos will no longer scramble my entire library into random and duplicate albums of it's own choosing (including ones I curated myself and synced)? Other than using the main camera roll I've pretty much abandoned it completely for this reason.

Anything would be an improvement.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)