Shared Album photos limit in iOS 27

As of iOS 27.2, this issue is resolved. I’m now able to add additional photos above 5,000 to a new OS27 Shared Album from iOS.

Thanks for the fix, Apple!

I’m running into the same issue.

New OS27 Shared Albums should no longer have a 5,000 photo limit, as described in the following Apple Support article. Shared Albums limits - Apple Support "There are no limits to the number of albums, or photos and videos in a shared album, beyond the owner's available iCloud storage."

However, when trying to upload a photo to a new OS27 Shared Album with 10,000+ photos, I receive an error message on iOS and macOS saying, "You can only add 5,000 photos and videos to a shared album." Inconsistently, I can continue to add new photos to the same 10,000+ shared album using iCloud.com.

I believe this is a UI bug affecting the share sheet on iOS and macOS. It's likely a holdover from the previous OS26/earlier shared albums with the 5,000 limit, preventing the upload before trying.

Anyone else running into this issue can bypass the limit by using iCloud.com in a web browser. I submitted a bug report and hope others will do the same until a fix is provided.

Is it a new Shared Album created after you updated to iOS 27, or did it exist before?

According to Shared Albums limits - Apple Support, only newly created Shared Albums can contain over 5000 items (in full resolution, and they count against your iCloud storage quota).

Are you using iCloud Photos Library? Unless you are using iCloud Photos you can now only share temporary albums, and for those the old limit of 5000 items apply. And the temporary albums will expire after 30 days days.

See: Create a temporary shared album on iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro - Apple Support (DE)

"How Temporary Shared Albums work

To create or view a temporary shared album, you need to update your device to version 27 or later of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or visionOS. Temporary shared albums:

• Don't use your iCloud storage.
• Don't require iCloud Photos to be turned on.
• Expire after 30 days. Any photos or videos not saved to your library will be deleted.

You can store up to 5,000 photos and videos in a temporary shared album.

Temporary Shared Albums aren't available in all countries or regions."