iCloud Drive allows OS X Yosemite users to store any type of file in the cloud
The launch of OS X Yosemite has brought online Apple's new iCloud Drive, which not only automatically syncs data from Mac and iOS applications, but also for the first time allows Mac users to upload and organize any file types on their own.
Apple's newly updated cross-platform storage service works similar to existing properties like Dropbox or Google Drive. Upon updating to Yosemite, users can store any type of file they wish in iCloud drive, as long as it's less than 15 gigabytes in size.
iCloud Drive file access is available in Yosemite by opening Finder and accessing the new cloud-based storage option under the Favorites menu.
Apple also offers access to iCloud Drive through icloud.com, using Safari 6, Firefox 22, or Google Chrome 28 or later. It's also available on a Windows 7 PC or later with iCloud for Windows 4.0.
There is currently not an official iCloud Drive client for iOS, but official Apple apps like Pages, Numbers and Keynote, as well as third-party apps updated with support for the service, can store files to the cloud automatically.
In addition, a free third-party app called iCloud Drive Explorer is available on the App Store, allowing suers to view all of the files they have saved remotely and even open them in their respective apps.
As before, iCloud is also used to sync information such as contacts, to back up photos, and to perform iPhone and iPad backups and restores.
All of these features are under a new pricing structure for iCloud. While a new account comes with 5 gigabytes of free storage, users can upgrade to 20 gigabytes for 99 cents per month, 200 gigabytes for $3.99 per month, 500 gigabytes for $9.99 per month, or 1 terabyte for $19.99 per month.
And as always, purchase music, movies or TV shows from the iTunes Store, content from the App Store, and digital titles from the iBookstore do not count against a user's iCloud storage.
It should be noted that iCloud Drive requires iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, so legacy devices running Mavericks or iOS 7 will not be able to keep their documents up to date with other devices. In addition, once a user has upgraded to iCloud Drive, they cannot downgrade back to Documents in the Cloud.
For more, see AppleInsider's ongoing OS X Yosemite Tips series.
Apple's newly updated cross-platform storage service works similar to existing properties like Dropbox or Google Drive. Upon updating to Yosemite, users can store any type of file they wish in iCloud drive, as long as it's less than 15 gigabytes in size.
iCloud Drive file access is available in Yosemite by opening Finder and accessing the new cloud-based storage option under the Favorites menu.
Apple also offers access to iCloud Drive through icloud.com, using Safari 6, Firefox 22, or Google Chrome 28 or later. It's also available on a Windows 7 PC or later with iCloud for Windows 4.0.
There is currently not an official iCloud Drive client for iOS, but official Apple apps like Pages, Numbers and Keynote, as well as third-party apps updated with support for the service, can store files to the cloud automatically.
In addition, a free third-party app called iCloud Drive Explorer is available on the App Store, allowing suers to view all of the files they have saved remotely and even open them in their respective apps.
As before, iCloud is also used to sync information such as contacts, to back up photos, and to perform iPhone and iPad backups and restores.
All of these features are under a new pricing structure for iCloud. While a new account comes with 5 gigabytes of free storage, users can upgrade to 20 gigabytes for 99 cents per month, 200 gigabytes for $3.99 per month, 500 gigabytes for $9.99 per month, or 1 terabyte for $19.99 per month.
And as always, purchase music, movies or TV shows from the iTunes Store, content from the App Store, and digital titles from the iBookstore do not count against a user's iCloud storage.
It should be noted that iCloud Drive requires iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, so legacy devices running Mavericks or iOS 7 will not be able to keep their documents up to date with other devices. In addition, once a user has upgraded to iCloud Drive, they cannot downgrade back to Documents in the Cloud.
For more, see AppleInsider's ongoing OS X Yosemite Tips series.
Comments
We’d’ve had this and more years ago had Dropbox given in to Apple’s offer.
I am so confused now with photos automatically show up everywhere on my devices. Do pictures from different devices show up in collections simultaneously across all devices? (And are these considered Photostream?)
When I click on help and i read about how to use iCloud Drive it says I can drag files and folders from my mac to iCloud Drive and it will copy the file there, but leave a copy on my mac. However, when I do this the file or folder doesn't stay on my mac. It's no longer there.
Am I misunderstanding how it works? Do I need to duplicate the file or folder before dragging it iCloud Drive?
Thanks!
It's obvious Apple will eventually add sharing. It's important to make sure the basics work 1st, and get people used to the concept. iCloud drive will be so much more than dropbox, and for any Mac/iOS user, so much more integrated.
Don't count Dropbox out of the game.
Just you wait until they release mobile devices, desktop machines, and all relevant software required for both.
< Cough. Cough. >
It might just be a poor choice of words on their part. Anything you see in iCloud Drive in Finder is on your Mac (just like Dropbox folders and files you see in Finder are on your Mac). If they specifically say they will make a copy in the current location on your Mac -and- create a duplicate copy in iCloud Drive (in the same manner than one creates a copy when copying to a connected network share) then that is not what iCD is currently doing for me.
Since you really only need one copy of the file on your device (assuming you have a backup system), iCD should be used to store items you want available across devices.
Apple finally has Dropbox, unless you use Dropbox because you want to share files and folders with various individuals.
Yeah.... sharing is the one thing that is the hang-up for me... It looks like Apple is doing something halfway by using Mail to send large files (up to 5GB) with a link to the user... but to me, that's not an elegant way.
For now, I'm staying on Dropbox, but keeping a very keen eye on how Apple progresses on this.
I'm very keen on Mail Drop because it achieves something that can be a chore to do with Dropbox. I often want to send people a large file that exceeds what can be done with a regular email account or iMessage so I setup a folder in Dropbox and then share it. An example would be iOS 8 IPSW betas. The problem with that is it uses up my Dropbox space until they delete it, I oft have to ask them if they've used it because they don't follow proper Dropbox etiquette (all of which I've made up), and if the shared folder is used by more than one person I need to make sure those that have accessed the content remove the shared folder, not the content within, to prevent it from messing with anyone else using the service. Within those basic issues there are myriad of other things that make it fairly complex for many users, even ones with a long history of computing experience.
That said, I'll keep Dropbox because of the shared folders and for the 30-day of delta updates. Apple has this in apps that are saved in iCD but I don't think there is a simple interface to see old copies or restore deleted files.
Apple finally has Dropbox, unless you use Dropbox because you want to share files and folders with various individuals.
iCloud always had one major benefit over Dropbox: with Apple's Core Data integration and iWork file formats, it seamlessly syncs across open files. If you open a Word document in Dropbox, forget to close it, do some work on a second computer, and go back to the first: disaster.
The return of iDisk! Yeah! Next up iWeb and iPhoto.
Apple finally has Dropbox, unless you use Dropbox because you want to share files and folders with various individuals.
Or if you want selective sync (which I can't find?). I want to store files in the cloud without hogging my SSD space on my MBA and MacPro.
I'm very keen on Mail Drop because it achieves something that can be a chore to do with Dropbox. I often want to send people a large file that exceeds what can be done with a regular email account or iMessage so I setup a folder in Dropbox and then share it. An example would be iOS 8 IPSW betas. The problem with that is it uses up my Dropbox space until they delete it, I oft have to ask them if they've used it because they don't follow proper Dropbox etiquette (all of which I've made up), and if the shared folder is used by more than one person I need to make sure those that have accessed the content remove the shared folder, not the content within, to prevent it from messing with anyone else using the service. Within those basic issues there are myriad of other things that make it fairly complex for many users, even ones with a long history of computing experience.
That said, I'll keep Dropbox because of the shared folders and for the 30-day of delta updates. Apple has this in apps that are saved in iCD but I don't think there is a simple interface to see old copies or restore deleted files.
It is not a chore to do this with Dropbox. You put a file in a folder. Then you share the link with whoever and tell them they have X days to retrieve it. Use Hazel to watch that "folder" and delete any files after X days. Pretty simple.
I know when I've shared Xcode projects via Dropbox and one person would make a change it would change in on the other end, too, but perhaps that was more how the Xcode app was writing and reading the source data.
That sounds like a chore, even when not comparing tit to Mail Drop. I don' even know what Hazel is.