Steve Jobs just unveiled iCloud, Apple’s cloud backup service, live on stage at WWDC 2011 in San Francisco. As expected, it replaces Apple’s MobileMe subscription service, and it’s free. Read on for just what you get.
Apple’s core three MobileMe services, contacts, calendars and mail, work largely the same as before, syncing seamlessly between devices – except you’re not paying the service, and you get a full 5GB free. But there’s more, naturally. “[We're] the ones who brought me MobileMe” Steve Jobs joked, riffing on MobeilMe’s notorious reputation for simply not working a lot of the time. “We’ve learned a lot from that.”
iCloud also includes cloud storage of all your App Store and iBook purchases, so you can see everything you’ve bought with your iTunes account. More importantly, BackUp stores your device’s purchased media, camera roll photos and video, device settings and app data to the cloud, daily over Wi-Fi.
iWork on iOS will also store documents and revisions in the cloud, similar to Google Docs for desktop and mobiles, while Photo Stream within the updated Album app (Andwill upload pictures from any device and push them to your other connected iOS gizmos and Macs – even Apple TVs. Only the last 1,000 pics will be stored in the cloud however, while every single one will be stashed on your PC or Mac. Apple is releasing iCloud APIs that will allow developers to rope the backup service into their iOS apps as well.
Last but not least, iTunes in the Cloud will keep track of what you’ve purchased in the cloud, and will let you download and listen to your tracks on any iOS device, no syncing required. It’ll download – rather than stream – every purchase to 10 devices.
For $24.99 per year, you can use a Shazam-style iTunes Match service which matches your ripped MP3s to iTunes versions, and will let you listen to and download these. That’ll save you from uploading tens of gigs of tracks as you’re required to with Google Music, though it doesn’t bode well for indie music fans fond of non-label bands.
iCloud is out in the Autumn with iOS 5, while iTunes in the Cloud is available as a beta for iOS 4.3, and will come to iOS 4.2 devices later this year.
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Out TBC | £free | Apple
