Yeah but that's always the problem with iOS devices, they are still treated as being below the Mac. If you want to backup a Mac, you don't need another device. I think an inexpensive storage device would not only make backups easier for people who use just iOS devices but having it connected to the adaptor and backing up transparently ensures people don't even have to think about it.
But if Apple offered an easy way to access drives directly from the iPhone, they wouldn't sell as many high NAND iPhones. So they gimp the product and the user experience.
Also, the telecoms love the move to cloud storage, since it increases demand for their overpriced bandwidth.
I think it would be nice if Apple offered an offline encrypted backup device for iOS. A 128GB SSD is under $100 and 64GB under $50. They could sell storage connected into the charging plug so when you charge the phone it backs up automatically every time without even thinking about it. If it had a spare USB port on the plug, this could be a small add-on - like a small USB pen. If it had enough storage, it could do multiple devices on the same storage. To migrate to a new device, you just keep the add-on and plug it into the new phone's plug and it restores it in seconds. It wouldn't matter if you accidentally sold the device as it would be encrypted with a key that either Apple has or the iTunes credentials.
People could choose which things to put in iCloud and which things to keep offline. There can be a photo and video tag that sets them as private such as nudes or selfies and they can stay offline but ok for local backup.
Just what we need, an Apple iSSD (128GB) that only works for backing up iPhones and costs upwards of $500. I hope you didn't spend all day thinking that one up.
Try backing up your iPhone to your Mac. If you use Time Machine or some other backup strategy, you'll have several older iPhone backups in time If you really need an encrypted backup, then your Mac will use an encrypted user directory, but since the backups are offline to a physical drive, the only way someone accesses them is if they break into your home.
Just what we need, an Apple iSSD (128GB) that only works for backing up iPhones and costs upwards of $500. I hope you didn't spend all day thinking that one up.
Why would it be $500+? I mentioned the pricing of retail SSDs. They can make 128GB for $99 or $149. Not everyone will need that much. Entry level products with 16GB or 32GB could get by with a $50-80 64GB model.
It's for people who don't regularly use or connect iOS devices to a Mac or PC any more. How does an elderly person migrate an iPad to a new one if that's all they have? iCloud is the only option. What if they have 30GB of data and a 1Mbit upload speed? That's days of uploading. A local storage device would back it up in minutes.
People are again forgetting the phrase 'post-PC'. If you have to use a PC, you blew it. That's why they made iCloud but it's too slow for lots of data.
I am very tempted to use a back up, if for no other reason it saves all my wi-fi logins. But since I am going from a 16 to a 56, space is going to be the least of my issues, at least for now. One of my worries about using a back up is that if there is some kind of corruption in the backup, like something that was jacking the battery up, it could be transferred to the new device. I know that sounds wacky, but I have had that happen during at least one device transfer.
I just had to get a replacement 5s for a screen defect during warranty. I restored from an up to date iTunes backup. Speaking of Wi Fi passwords, I had to re-enter every last one of them! The rest of the backup worked fine however. Is this usual?
Why would it be $500+? I mentioned the pricing of retail SSDs. They can make 128GB for $99 or $149. Not everyone will need that much. Entry level products with 16GB or 32GB could get by with a $50-80 64GB model.
It's for people who don't regularly use or connect iOS devices to a Mac or PC any more. How does an elderly person migrate an iPad to a new one if that's all they have? iCloud is the only option. What if they have 30GB of data and a 1Mbit upload speed? That's days of uploading. A local storage device would back it up in minutes.
People are again forgetting the phrase 'post-PC'. If you have to use a PC, you blew it. That's why they made iCloud but it's too slow for lots of data.
Apple wouldn't sell the SSD in an Apple enclosure and let you plug it directly into an iPhone, because it would be too easy for aftermarket sellers to market enclosures that allowed users to slap in their own cheap drives. Then users could <gasp> carry the SSD in a pocket and no need to buy anything but the 16GB iPhone. That is Apple's very own End Times scenario.
The goal is to lay iCustomers over iBarrels and sell them iPhone NAND upgrades for 100-300 bucks. They will do nothing that interferes with such a goal, no matter how loudly consumers ask for more versatility in managing iDevice content.
For the same reason, Apple will inevitably lose to Android, regardless of thinner.
FWIW, I totally agree that the product you describe would be a cool device to use with an iDevice. I just don't see Apple making such a product under the current leadership.
Interesting. I've never seen that written anywhere. Any downside to encrypting the backup?
Not really.
The first encrypted backup is much slower, but normal speed thereafter. Otherwise, I recommend it, as it saves your passwords as already stated. We people who read instructions know these things. If you want to use an application like iExplorer to transfer data like voice messages and text messages to your Mac, you will need to unencrypt your backup. Once you have transferred them, you can encrypt it again.
Instead of acting like this, why not stop trolling? Everyone sees right through it. When, exactly, do you expect Apple to lose to Android? Ten years? Five years? Maybe they’ll go bankrupt tomorrow.
Instead of acting like this, why not stop trolling? Everyone sees right through it. When, exactly, do you expect Apple to lose to Android? Ten years? Five years? Maybe they’ll go bankrupt tomorrow.
This isn't Mac vs. Windows, either. Unlike Windows, Android is a very good OS, and with Android L it may even achieve greatness. I have both iOS and Android devices and Android is the more versatile and useful OS, but iOS is far more stable and responsive. If Google can fix the stability, I'd even consider another Android device. That will be no small undertaking seeing that my Nexus 7 randomly restarts every few hours, LOL. It will be replaced by the next Retina iPad Mini.
Yeah, by the 12th iteration it might finally compare to iPhone OS 1.
Anyways, you’re fanboi trolling is rather tiring. You should at least consider not being a fanboi - it's so rewarding to think for one's self. If you can, that is. I apologize for the suggestion if you're mentally challenged and thus lack the cognitive capacity to think for yourself. Your compulsion to count out loud does suggest some sort of brain malady
At least have the courtesy to insult my memory or self esteem. Geez, if you’re going to resort to personal attacks, make them personal.
Thanks. I have looked at getting iExplorer recently. Do you think it is one of the better applications of this sort? Is it significantly more versatile than the free iBrowse?
Apple wouldn't sell the SSD in an Apple enclosure and let you plug it directly into an iPhone, because it would be too easy for aftermarket sellers to market enclosures that allowed users to slap in their own cheap drives. Then users could <gasp> carry the SSD in a pocket and no need to buy anything but the 16GB iPhone. That is Apple's very own End Times scenario.
SSDs need power, the design I described plugs into the power supply, not the iPhone so you can't take it with you. Third parties could probably make cheaper SSDs but they'd have to work with the Apple power supply and it's the iPhone that has to interface with it and encrypt the backup (the iPhone could just format the backup drive encrypted but for multiple devices, it may be better to encrypt each backup).
The goal is to lay iCustomers over iBarrels and sell them iPhone NAND upgrades for 100-300 bucks. They will do nothing that interferes with such a goal, no matter how loudly consumers ask for more versatility in managing iDevice content.
Like I say, this doesn't conflict with the iPhone's storage as it wouldn't be portable.
Thanks. I have looked at getting iExplorer recently. Do you think it is one of the better applications of this sort? Is it significantly more versatile than the free iBrowse?
I haven't tried iBrowse. I compared iExplorer to one other similar utility, and decided that I preferred iExplorer. I think it was the help and support pages that tipped me over. The application is quite expensive, but it's very well laid out and quick to use. I only mentioned messages and voicemail, but it extracts much more from your iDevice if you want to; probably as much as it can. It offers various formats for exporting and various ways of sorting the information.
SSDs need power, the design I described plugs into the power supply, not the iPhone so you can't take it with you. Third parties could probably make cheaper SSDs but they'd have to work with the Apple power supply and it's the iPhone that has to interface with it and encrypt the backup (the iPhone could just format the backup drive encrypted but for multiple devices, it may be better to encrypt each backup).
Like I say, this doesn't conflict with the iPhone's storage as it wouldn't be portable.
Apple takes the route that most users don't care for the complications involved in expanding storage and copying back and forth:
iOS devices are intended to be simple to use. I would have found an SD Card useful in the past but Airdropping things is the better route forward.
Good points. I saw that SD cards are slowly falling out of use, but Android devices also work with OTG USB cables, which let one plug in many different storage formates for read-only access. It's also easy to manage files over one's WLAN, bypassing clouds altogether.
I guess I misunderstood the tech you were describing - what I thought you meant (and what I'd want the most- probably why I read it that way) is a device that housed an SSD and battery, which functioned like an external battery pack with a piggy back storage device. Plug it into an iDevice and you have access to the SSD contents via a new iOS 9 Finder that finally turns iDevices into a proper computer. It can also automatically backup your iPhone, and it can be left plugged into a wall if you want to use it as an AC adapter/charger.
I can understand gimping file system access on a tiny phone, but on a tablet or 6+, it just introduces a needless roadblock to usability. My Nexus 7 is so damn cool because I can wireless access it's file system from my Mac Pro. I find moving files between file systems to be MUCH easier than dealing with syncing multiple apps or having to work through the iTunes mess. Note that the Nexus 7 is plagued by a comical instability - I'm not pimping Android here, just pointing out that in some ways it's quite versatile.
Apple's explanation would of course be that the reason iOS is so stable is due to the closed file system and gated App Store. Yet my Mac is rock solid despite running software from outside Apple's gated community, so I don't buy that argument.
Comments
What a brilliant iPhone backup guide!
Next up: how to use Contacts to make a call on your iPhone.
Don't miss last week's guide: How to set a different ringtone on your iPhone!
Yeah but that's always the problem with iOS devices, they are still treated as being below the Mac. If you want to backup a Mac, you don't need another device. I think an inexpensive storage device would not only make backups easier for people who use just iOS devices but having it connected to the adaptor and backing up transparently ensures people don't even have to think about it.
But if Apple offered an easy way to access drives directly from the iPhone, they wouldn't sell as many high NAND iPhones. So they gimp the product and the user experience.
Also, the telecoms love the move to cloud storage, since it increases demand for their overpriced bandwidth.
The NSA loves cloud storage too.
Everyone wins but the civilian.
I think it would be nice if Apple offered an offline encrypted backup device for iOS. A 128GB SSD is under $100 and 64GB under $50. They could sell storage connected into the charging plug so when you charge the phone it backs up automatically every time without even thinking about it. If it had a spare USB port on the plug, this could be a small add-on - like a small USB pen. If it had enough storage, it could do multiple devices on the same storage. To migrate to a new device, you just keep the add-on and plug it into the new phone's plug and it restores it in seconds. It wouldn't matter if you accidentally sold the device as it would be encrypted with a key that either Apple has or the iTunes credentials.
People could choose which things to put in iCloud and which things to keep offline. There can be a photo and video tag that sets them as private such as nudes or selfies and they can stay offline but ok for local backup.
Just what we need, an Apple iSSD (128GB) that only works for backing up iPhones and costs upwards of $500. I hope you didn't spend all day thinking that one up.
Try backing up your iPhone to your Mac. If you use Time Machine or some other backup strategy, you'll have several older iPhone backups in time If you really need an encrypted backup, then your Mac will use an encrypted user directory, but since the backups are offline to a physical drive, the only way someone accesses them is if they break into your home.
Why would it be $500+? I mentioned the pricing of retail SSDs. They can make 128GB for $99 or $149. Not everyone will need that much. Entry level products with 16GB or 32GB could get by with a $50-80 64GB model.
It's for people who don't regularly use or connect iOS devices to a Mac or PC any more. How does an elderly person migrate an iPad to a new one if that's all they have? iCloud is the only option. What if they have 30GB of data and a 1Mbit upload speed? That's days of uploading. A local storage device would back it up in minutes.
People are again forgetting the phrase 'post-PC'. If you have to use a PC, you blew it. That's why they made iCloud but it's too slow for lots of data.
If you want to keep wifi passwords, then you have to encrypt the backup. You think it would say that somewhere, it probably does, but who reads?
Why would it be $500+? I mentioned the pricing of retail SSDs. They can make 128GB for $99 or $149. Not everyone will need that much. Entry level products with 16GB or 32GB could get by with a $50-80 64GB model.
It's for people who don't regularly use or connect iOS devices to a Mac or PC any more. How does an elderly person migrate an iPad to a new one if that's all they have? iCloud is the only option. What if they have 30GB of data and a 1Mbit upload speed? That's days of uploading. A local storage device would back it up in minutes.
People are again forgetting the phrase 'post-PC'. If you have to use a PC, you blew it. That's why they made iCloud but it's too slow for lots of data.
Apple wouldn't sell the SSD in an Apple enclosure and let you plug it directly into an iPhone, because it would be too easy for aftermarket sellers to market enclosures that allowed users to slap in their own cheap drives. Then users could <gasp> carry the SSD in a pocket and no need to buy anything but the 16GB iPhone. That is Apple's very own End Times scenario.
The goal is to lay iCustomers over iBarrels and sell them iPhone NAND upgrades for 100-300 bucks. They will do nothing that interferes with such a goal, no matter how loudly consumers ask for more versatility in managing iDevice content.
For the same reason, Apple will inevitably lose to Android, regardless of thinner.
Not really.
The first encrypted backup is much slower, but normal speed thereafter. Otherwise, I recommend it, as it saves your passwords as already stated. We people who read instructions know these things. If you want to use an application like iExplorer to transfer data like voice messages and text messages to your Mac, you will need to unencrypt your backup. Once you have transferred them, you can encrypt it again.
For the same reason, Apple will inevitably lose to Android, regardless of thinner.
Yeah, shut up please. I knew I had you on a list for a reason.
Yeah, shut up please. I knew I had you on a list for a reason.
Hey look, it's my favorite Apple Fanboi!
Edit: My 6+ arrives in a few days. What's the last iDevice your mom bought for you?
…Fanboi!
That’s one.
Two.
And three.
Instead of acting like this, why not stop trolling? Everyone sees right through it. When, exactly, do you expect Apple to lose to Android? Ten years? Five years? Maybe they’ll go bankrupt tomorrow.
That’s one.
Two.
And three.
Instead of acting like this, why not stop trolling? Everyone sees right through it. When, exactly, do you expect Apple to lose to Android? Ten years? Five years? Maybe they’ll go bankrupt tomorrow.
Apple already lost to Android:
This isn't Mac vs. Windows, either. Unlike Windows, Android is a very good OS, and with Android L it may even achieve greatness. I have both iOS and Android devices and Android is the more versatile and useful OS, but iOS is far more stable and responsive. If Google can fix the stability, I'd even consider another Android device. That will be no small undertaking seeing that my Nexus 7 randomly restarts every few hours, LOL. It will be replaced by the next Retina iPad Mini.
Apple already lost to Android:
Thanks for playing. Again.
Yeah, by the 12th iteration it might finally compare to iPhone OS 1.
Anyways, you’re fanboi trolling is rather tiring. You should at least consider not being a fanboi - it's so rewarding to think for one's self. If you can, that is. I apologize for the suggestion if you're mentally challenged and thus lack the cognitive capacity to think for yourself. Your compulsion to count out loud does suggest some sort of brain malady
At least have the courtesy to insult my memory or self esteem. Geez, if you’re going to resort to personal attacks, make them personal.
FTFY.
*- or leeryThanks for playing. Again.
Yeah, by the 12th iteration it might finally compare to iPhone OS 1.
At least have the courtesy to insult my memory or self esteem. Geez, if you’re going to resort to personal attacks, make them personal.
Do you own any Android products that run recent OS builds?
SSDs need power, the design I described plugs into the power supply, not the iPhone so you can't take it with you. Third parties could probably make cheaper SSDs but they'd have to work with the Apple power supply and it's the iPhone that has to interface with it and encrypt the backup (the iPhone could just format the backup drive encrypted but for multiple devices, it may be better to encrypt each backup).
Like I say, this doesn't conflict with the iPhone's storage as it wouldn't be portable.
Apple takes the route that most users don't care for the complications involved in expanding storage and copying back and forth:
http://lifehacker.com/android-kitkat-blocks-some-access-to-micro-sd-cards-1524997895
iOS devices are intended to be simple to use. I would have found an SD Card useful in the past but Airdropping things is the better route forward.
I haven't tried iBrowse. I compared iExplorer to one other similar utility, and decided that I preferred iExplorer. I think it was the help and support pages that tipped me over. The application is quite expensive, but it's very well laid out and quick to use. I only mentioned messages and voicemail, but it extracts much more from your iDevice if you want to; probably as much as it can. It offers various formats for exporting and various ways of sorting the information.
SSDs need power, the design I described plugs into the power supply, not the iPhone so you can't take it with you. Third parties could probably make cheaper SSDs but they'd have to work with the Apple power supply and it's the iPhone that has to interface with it and encrypt the backup (the iPhone could just format the backup drive encrypted but for multiple devices, it may be better to encrypt each backup).
Like I say, this doesn't conflict with the iPhone's storage as it wouldn't be portable.
Apple takes the route that most users don't care for the complications involved in expanding storage and copying back and forth:
http://lifehacker.com/android-kitkat-blocks-some-access-to-micro-sd-cards-1524997895
iOS devices are intended to be simple to use. I would have found an SD Card useful in the past but Airdropping things is the better route forward.
Good points. I saw that SD cards are slowly falling out of use, but Android devices also work with OTG USB cables, which let one plug in many different storage formates for read-only access. It's also easy to manage files over one's WLAN, bypassing clouds altogether.
I guess I misunderstood the tech you were describing - what I thought you meant (and what I'd want the most- probably why I read it that way) is a device that housed an SSD and battery, which functioned like an external battery pack with a piggy back storage device. Plug it into an iDevice and you have access to the SSD contents via a new iOS 9 Finder that finally turns iDevices into a proper computer. It can also automatically backup your iPhone, and it can be left plugged into a wall if you want to use it as an AC adapter/charger.
I can understand gimping file system access on a tiny phone, but on a tablet or 6+, it just introduces a needless roadblock to usability. My Nexus 7 is so damn cool because I can wireless access it's file system from my Mac Pro. I find moving files between file systems to be MUCH easier than dealing with syncing multiple apps or having to work through the iTunes mess. Note that the Nexus 7 is plagued by a comical instability - I'm not pimping Android here, just pointing out that in some ways it's quite versatile.
Apple's explanation would of course be that the reason iOS is so stable is due to the closed file system and gated App Store. Yet my Mac is rock solid despite running software from outside Apple's gated community, so I don't buy that argument.