1. I'm not an iOS dev so I can't say for sure, but my impression is that the apps don't have that much control when they open the photo library. 2. Sorry I was

1. I'm not an iOS dev so I can't say for sure, but my impression is that the apps don't have that much control when they open the photo library. 2. Sorry I wasn't clear; this is what I do. The problem is that if you move the photo library at all (or even if you don't but it's a new OS installation), it doesn't trust the old sync state so it manually checks each photo. It does seem to be hashing or something since it's using very little network, but it's only processing one photo every 10 to 20 seconds. I have no idea what makes it so slow, but I've found similar reports on forums so it seems to just be the way it is.