Eddy Cue , Apple ’s senior frailty president of internet software and services , unveiled the divine service after Scott Forstall ’s presentation on iOS 5 , also schedule to ship on October 12 . iCloud is contain of several constituent : seamless sync and stand-in for iOS gimmick ; a server that fight your contact , calendar , chain mail , notes , and monitor to all your devices ; and outback entree to all your iTunes purchase . And for $ 25 a year , client can purchase the supplemental iTunes Match service and receive entree to their total music subroutine library ( up to 25,000 songs across 10 machine ) , including strain not originally purchased from the iTunes memory .
Sync to the world
Like its predecessor , MobileMe , iCloud will offer user a freename@me.com address for send off and receive e-mail . Through iCloud , you ’ll be able-bodied to get at , update , and sync your email , calendars , Safari bookmarks , and link across all of your devices and the Web . Io user will also be able to sync reminders and notes from their several apps to iCal and Mail on the Mac , respectively . There are three new sync section to iCloud , too : Documents and Data , Photo Stream , and Past Purchases .
Documents and Data sync keeps your app data ubiquitous across all your iOS twist , allowing you to create a document on one gimmick , save it , and nibble up where you left off on another . This is presently only supported by Apple ’s iWork apps , but APIs are available for third - party developer to incorporate .
Photo Stream grant you to snap a word picture from any iOS equipment and have it seamlessly push to all your other equipment and estimator . double are go on for 30 sidereal day , and on iOS gadget , you ’re only evince the last 1000 pic , so as to bear on your iCloud depot space .
Past Purchases , which has been available in “ public beta ” since June , allows you to watch your past leverage account for your apps , books , songs , and TV shows , and re - download them for free . In improver , if enabled , iCloud will automatically download new purchase to all your devices , no matter which one you initially purchase it on . A few caveats : Re - downloading sure token , like music and television shows , may be curb by body politic ; and detail you ’ve purchase in the past that are no longer uncommitted on the iTunes Store may not be available for regaining .
Operation Backup
As part of iOS 5 ’s “ PC Free ” initiative , you could back up your twist daily to iCloud over Wi - Fi , when connected to office . Backup will store your camera roll , mise en scene , app data , home blind administration , substance , and ringtones ; if you necessitate to repair your gimmick , you ’ll be capable to do so over - the - atmosphere , with Backup working in tandem with your past purchase to accurately restore your apps , books , euphony , and other media . ( Like re - downloads , you may not be able-bodied to restore sure purchases internationally due to licensing restrictions ; stop your country to be sure . )
Cloudy with a chance of iTunes
In addition to sync computer storage , your free iCloud account will put up you with instant memory access to your purchased music and TV shows ( U.S. only ) , using the previously - mentioned Past Purchases have . But that ’s not all : For $ 25 a year , you’re able to unlock iTunes Match , which offers up your entire depository library ( up to 25,000 songs ) for take in and hear on any iOS gadget or data processor you own ( up to 10 ) .
Once enable , iTunes Match will scan the songs in your music depository library and link them to the correct call in the iTunes catalogue for easy downloading and cyclosis to your twist . If your songs were n’t originally buy from iTunes , butareavailable in the catalog , you could download DRM - free 256kbps AAC recordings for free ; otherwise , iTunes will upload your unrivaled Song dynasty to iCloud so that you could access them from multiple devices . iTunes Match will only be open to U.S. users initially , though Cue noted that they hope to spread out it up internationally before the end of 2011 .
There’s a finding app for that
feel My iPhone , previously a MobileMe subscription characteristic ( and after open up to anyone with an Apple ID ) has been fold up into iCloud , along with a component for finding your OS X Lion - equipped Mac . And to complete the “ find things ” triptych , Apple has acquaint a fresh iOS app called chance My Friends , which helps you align with your companions via geo - position . user can only get at locations of those people partake in locations with them ; you may perennially apportion your localization , or create a Temporary Event , which disseminate your location to specific people for a sealed time period . concealment controls let you enable , disable , or restrict location communion , and all of these can be further bound within Parental Controls .
The facts were these…
On the ironware side , iCloud requires an iOS machine ply iOS 5 , a Mac run atomic number 76 X Lion , or a microcomputer running Windows Vista or later ; Outlook 2007 or later on is recommended for Windows users wishing to access their contacts and calendars on their microcomputer .
Updated at 12:00 p.m. PT with more information throughout the clause .
