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iCloud

The best place for all your photos, files, and more.

560 'iCloud' stories May 2011 - June 2011
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iCloud

iCloud was launched in 2011 as the successor to MobileMe and is Apple’s current cloud service that allows iOS and Mac users to save and synchronize information. Apple includes 5GB of iCloud storage for free with all accounts and has paid options starting at $0.99/month for 50GB.

iCloud is built into every Apple device. That means all your stuff — photos, files, notes, and more — is safe, up to date, and available wherever you are. And it works automatically, so all you have to do is keep doing what you love. Everyone gets 5GB of free iCloud storage to start, and it’s easy to add more at any time.

What is iCloud?

iCloud solved a problem that we were facing in 2011. Originally, Apple pitched the Mac as the digital hub to our life. Our iPods (and then iPhones) would sync over a cable to transfer information. As we added iPads, it became a mess. Steve demoted the Mac back to just a device and made the “cloud” the center of our digital life. Using the service, users could sync all of their data over the air. As an example, a Keynote document edited on your Mac would automatically be up to date with the latest changes on your iPad or iPhone. iCloud also allowed you to back up your iOS device for an easy path to change devices without having to set everything up manually.

The problem with this original iCloud pitch is it didn’t cover all of our photos. We didn’t get that until iCloud Photos came in iOS 8. It didn’t cover iMessage, as that didn’t come until a few years ago with messages in the cloud. It didn’t cover all of our files, but only those in the iCloud folder stored inside of app folders. We didn’t get seamless syncing of files until Apple added Desktop and Document folder syncing a few years ago.

Over time, Apple has continued to add features to iCloud, and it’s turned out to be a really robust and reliable service. Users can sync files, photos, notes, reminders, and Safari bookmarks to their Mac, iPhone, iPad, and even Apple TV (photos).

iCloud Troubleshooting

If you’re having trouble using iCloud, you may want to make sure it isn’t affected by downtime. Check Apple’s iCloud Status page here.

How much does iCloud cost?

Pricing can change at anytime (view Apple’s latest pricing page), but here are the current rates for a few countries.

United States
50GB: $0.99
200GB: $2.99
2TB: $9.99

Canada 
50GB: $1.29
200GB: $3.99
2TB: $12.99

United Kingdom
50GB: £0.79
200GB: £2.49
2TB: £6.99

European Union
50GB: 0.99 €
200GB: 2.99 €
2TB: 9.99 €

Read below for all of our coverage

Another casualty of iCloud transition: MobileMe email aliases

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Jun 7 2011 - 11:22 am PT
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If you’re a MobileMe subscriber, prepare for some inconveniences while Apple moves your stuff to its humongous North Carolina datacenter. Between yesterday and this fall, when iCloud becomes available to everyone with iOS 5, some services won’t be available and other may need your attention. Apple outlined what’s to be expected in both a support document and an unreleased guide we uncovered. We’ve spotted another support document, this one related to MobileMe email aliases. So, what’s the deal?


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The guide to migrating personal data from MobileMe to iCloud

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Jun 7 2011 - 7:28 am PT
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Yesterday, Apple killed MobileMe and replaced it with the iCloud online services suite which will be available free with iOS 5 this Fall. Apple has published a nice Q&A explaining what the transition means to MobileMe subscribers and how the company plans to go about it. Additionally, a notice at www.me.com/upgrade says that “you’ll be able to upgrade your account to iCloud soon”. With that in mind, you may want to prep your migration ahead of the Apple-imposed June 30, 2012 cut-off time when the MobilMe service will no longer be available. Wondering how? Turns out there’s a leaked document for that!


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What is iTunes Tone Store?

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Jun 7 2011 - 7:04 am PT
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iTunes Tone Store has been outed on this slide from yesterday’s keynote.

In addition to the big ones, iOS 5 includes dozens of nice-to-haves that have been given little air time during Apple’s WWDC keynote talk yesterday, excluding passing mention on a group slide. So, what do you see in the above snap? Yeah, it’s Apple’s iOS software chief Scott Forstall zipping through the iOS 5 segment of the keynote. See the iTunes Tone Store mention on the slide? Given Apple already sells 99-cent ringtones on iTunes and they let us create our own 30-second snippets from iTunes purchases, we can’t help but wonder – why do we need yet another store? Plus, a Paal, Belgium-based reader creates a YouTube video as a comment to this article, found at the bottom.


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WWDC 2011: iCloud rains down on Google, free of charge

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Jun 6 2011 - 11:25 am PT
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A Stevenote is in progress at San Francisco’s Moscone West where Apple’s boss and his top lieutenants are on stage, making headlines with a plethora of iOS 5, Lion and iCloud announcements. The keynote has kicked off Apple’s annual developer conference which runs through June 10.

“I get to unveil iCloud”, Jobs said as he announced Apple’s latest online services suite that will replace MobileMe as a go-to solution for all your cloud needs. He argued that the cloud – not your computer  – has now become the hub for your digital life. Keeping all your devices in sync makes us crazy, Jobs observed, adding “We’ve got a great solution to this problem… We’re going to demote the PC and the Mac to just be a device.”

The cloud sync works automatically between iOS devices, PCs and Macs, per Apple’s “It just works” mantra. Any changes in, say, the Calendar or Contacts apps get automatically pushed via the cloud to all of your iOS devices. This is true for any supported app, which includes the recently updated Pages and Keynote apps. Plus, the new Cloud Storage APIs let third-parties write apps that tie with this cloud storage.For instance, you can create a document in Pages for iPhone and it will automagically become available via the cloud on your iPad – they call that Documents in Cloud. Jobs said,

Documents in the Cloud really completes our iOS document storage story. A lot of us have been working for 10 years to get rid of the file system so the user doesn’t have to learn about it.

What else is cool?


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WWDC 2011: Steve Jobs takes the stage, cranks up the reality-distortion field

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Jun 6 2011 - 10:09 am PT
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Image credit: Engadget

Our own Seth Weintraub is on hand at San Francisco’s Moscone West where Steve Jobs has taken the stage at 9am Pacific, ready to deliver a landmark presentation on the future of Apple’s operating system and cloud services. A press release issued last Tuesday has divided the agenda for the software-focused WWDC 2011 show between iOS 5, Mac OS X Lion and iCloud segments.

The statement also said “a team of Apple executives” would help Jobs deliver the keynote. We’re guessing Timothy Cook will join Apple’s CEO shortly to provide an update on business metrics and are keeping our fingers crossed for Scott Forstall and Phil Schiller to demo the new stuff in iOS 5 and Lion, respectively, with Jobs jumping in and out between segments…

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iCloud icon revealed, looks familiar

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Jun 2 2011 - 12:07 pm PT
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Douglas Bowman (via MR) had a peak into Moscone West and saw an iCloud icon.   Looks familiar, no? Oh yes, we detailed this just a few months ago:

A 9to5mac reader writes in telling us he/she’s found some interesting files in Lion.  These files are labeled “MobileDocumentsFolder.icns, Mobile Documents 32.png and SidebarMobileDocumentsFolder.icns” and show new types of icons for a Cloud file system.  Clearly, this would seem to be the successor to iDisk and is probably shows a more transparent interface between the desktop and the Cloud, perhaps a little more like Dropbox. We’re also thinking there is an iWork.com component as well since these are “documentsFolders”.

– here’s the new sidebar icon.

Update: In fact, it looks a lot like a mix of iDisk and iSync (which makes a lot of sense)

 

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Economic Times: Apple likely to release iCloud service in June, announce at WWDC

Avatar for Seth Weintraub May 23 2011 - 12:04 am PT
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The Ecconomic Times expands on the recent chatter about the iTunes Cloud (iCloud?)service we’ve been hearing about.  The news site confirms that Apple has locked up deals with 3/4 of the top labels (Universal is widely reported to be the holdout) and is set to reveal the new service at next month’s WWDC.

The Cupertino, California-based gadget-maker is expected to launch a new Web-hosted music service next month, according to multiple reports, after negotiating deals with at least three of the four major record labels.

WWDC isn’t traditionally a venue for iTunes related news but we’ll give Apple a pass…


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