After months of waiting, Apple has finally released their iCloud service today alongside iOS 5. iCloud is Apple’s replacement for MobileMe, and features a few changes that you may want to be aware of. Here’s what you need to know:
Important: It’s a good idea to wait until Apple releases iOS 5 and OS X 10.7.2 to make the switch, as these are required to take advantage of iCloud!
What is iCloud?
iCloud is Apple’s new way of wirelessly (and seamlessly) syncing content between your iOS devices and your Mac, eliminating cables and smoothing our the process of keeping your information in sync.
What Can I Expect From iCloud?
iCloud works together with iOS 5 and Mac OS X, and make life a whole lot easier by syncing content such as contacts, calendars and photos between all of your devices and your Mac. iCloud, which is a free service, includes the following five parts:
- Contacts, Calendar & Mail
Like its MobileMe ancestor, iCloud will wirelessly sync your contacts and calendar events, as well as your Safari bookmarks and other useful bits of information. All of these features will continue to be offered in iCloud, and their data will be stored in up to 5GB of free storage provided for free to all iCloud users.
- iTunes in the Cloud
iTunes in the cloud will allow you to re-download any music you’ve purchased from iTunes in the past, and will make all of your iTunes-purchased music available on any of your devices as long as you have an internet connection. In addition to music, this service also works with apps, books, and TV shows, and none of these will count towards your 5GB of free iCloud storage (although they will still occupy space on your device).
- Photo Stream
Photo Stream syncs your camera roll between your iOS devices and your Mac. Taking a photo on one device causes the photo to appear on your other devices, all without having to hook your devices up to your computer. iCloud will store your last 1,000 photos, and new photos will remain in the cloud for 30 days, ensuring that you have plenty of time to connect to WiFi and sync then to your computer. Like iTunes content, Photo Stream images also don’t count against your free 5GB of iCloud storage.
- Documents in the Cloud
Documents in the Cloud works with iWork for the Mac and for iOS devices, and keeps your iWork documents in sync. Starting an iWork document on your iPhone will cause the document to appear on your other devices, as well as becoming available through iWork.com. Changes will also be synced between devices, so you can begin editing a document on one device, and pick up where you left off on another.
Documents are stored in your 5GB of free iCloud storage, and count against your limit. Third-party developers will be able to integrate this feature into their apps. A future update of iWork for Mac is expected to bring full Documents in the Cloud functionality to OS X.
- Backups, iBooks, & App Data
While iOS 4.3.3 already keeps your iBookstore and App Store purchases available at all times, iCloud will add the ability to backup and restore your Camera Roll photos and videos, application data, home screen organization, SMS, MMS and iMessages, and even ringtones so that you can restore your device or bring your content to a new device without having to use a computer. Everything lister here except apps, photos & videos and books will count towards your 5GB storage limit.
How Much Does It Cost?
This part is exciting. Unlike MobileMe, which costed $99 a year, iCloud will be free for all users of iOS 5 and OS X Lion. The service will include 5GB of storage for free, and will give the option to upgrade your storage. 10GB of storage will cost $20 per year, 20GB of storage will costs $40 per year, and 50GB of storage will cost $100 per year if you need the extra space.
Will my iPhone/iPad/iPod touch Work With iCloud?
Any device capable of running iOS 5 will work with iCloud. For iPhones, that means an iPhone 3GS or later, for iPod touches that means a 3rd generation device or newer, and iOS 5 will work with all existing models of the iPad.
As far as your computer is concerned, a Mac running OS X Lion or a computer running Windows Vista or Windows 7 (and Apple’s iCloud software) will be required, although rumors have suggested that Apple may add iCloud functionality in a future update to Snow Leopard as well.
How Can MobileMe Users Upgrade To iCloud?
Those that hold MobileMe accounts will be able to convert their accounts to iCloud using iCloud.com. The new website will give web-based access to your mail, contacts and calendar events, as well as Find My iPhone. Users with Me.com or Mac.com email addresses will be able to keep their email address.
How Will iCloud Affect MobileMe Users?
While iCloud includes a lot of cool new things like PhotoStream and iTunes in the Cloud, it also removes support for a few features that MobileMe had. iWeb publishing, iDisk, Gallery, and the syncing of certain OS X items including keychains, dock items, and system preferences will no longer be supported.
Current MobileMe subscribers, even those who upgrade to iCloud, will continue to be able to use iDisk, iWeb publishing and Gallery until June 30, 2012. At that point, those services will be turned off permanently. MobileMe users who move to iCloud before June 30th will be given 20GB of free iCloud storage rather than the typical 5GB.
MobileMe Will Die On June 30th, 2012
Apple has announced that the MobileMe platform will cease to exist as of June 30, 2012, and will be replaced entirely by iCloud. At that time, data will no longer be available from published iWebsites or Gallery albums, and iDisk will be eliminated, never to be seen again. Users of these features are advised to keep backups of all data within these systems.
It’s possible that some of these features will return, as Apple CEO Tim Cook says that Apple will be listening to customer feedback and complaints about the discontinued services, and is open to the possibility of adding some of them back over time.
What About iTunes Match?
iTunes Match is another exciting component of iCloud. iTunes Match is a $25 per year service that will scan your music library, match the music you own with Apple’s own iTunes library, and upload the rest of your songs, making your entire music library available on all of your devices. It will also upgrade all of your songs to 256Kbps bit-rate songs in the process.
Although Apple initially announced that iTunes Match would be available when iCloud launched, the company announced on October 4th that the service actually won’t be going live until the end of October.
How Can I Get iCloud?
You’ll be able to create an iCloud account when setting up any iOS 5 device, as well as from iCloud.com. Installing Apple’s OS X 10.7.2 upgrade (which will likely be released later today or early tomorrow) will be required for setting up and using iCloud accounts on your Mac. Apple will also release an update for iPhoto, for the Apple TV, and for iWork for iOS to make them compatible with iOS 5 and iCloud.
We’ll keep you posted on when Apple rolls out their iCloud service tomorrow, so make sure to stay tuned to MacTrast for more details.
