For Apple's revamped photo experience to work, iCloud changes are needed

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  • Reply 41 of 161
    cashxxcashxx Posts: 114member
    I think at the very least Apple should be matching what Google is providing! I still haven't upgraded my iCloud Drive because of this. I believe the normal way was Photos, Videos and Music didn't count towards your quota.
  • Reply 42 of 161
    Last week, I tried iCloud Photo Sharing of two large family events with those involved. I immediately began getting emails saying that upon the receipt of the email invite, they clicked subscribe & couldn't get it to work. I added my email to the list of invites & read it on a PC laptop. I learned that to subscribe to the iCloud Photo Stream & see the pictures, one had to own an IOS device with IOS 6 or higher, or a Mac running 10.8.2 or higher, plus a late version of iPhoto. So, 3/4 of the people I sent the invite to can't see them. This is a whole different experience from something like SmugMug, which is browser based, & everyone invited can log in, view & download photos. I think iPhoto Sharing worked better under Mobile Me.

    On all my devices, I went to the iCloud control panel & turned on, "My Photo Stream." My photos not only populated the other devices, I got an email from Apple, notifying me of a purchase transacting dinged from my stored credit card, for additional iCloud storage. I didn't recall seeing a warning message to that effect when I turned on the buttons. Think I'll shut all that down & just sync & backup the photos I want via secure hardwire.
  • Reply 43 of 161
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    But the two iCloud features all iPhone users will have to deal with are backup and photos. 

     

     

    I don't use iCloud for either of these (backup and photos).  Are you saying these will be mandated in the future?

  • Reply 44 of 161

    I've been building, using, repairing, and upgrading computers for 30 years. I find iTunes Match and iCloud to require too much thought. Very un-Apple-like.

  • Reply 45 of 161
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    People seem downright confounded by iCloud, and that's a problem for Apple.



    The upgrade conundrum



    The main problem? The 5-gigabyte free iCloud tier is a joke, and once iCloud Photo Library is implemented across the board, almost every iPhone user is going to be required to purchase more iCloud storage.

     

    Apparently you're the only one "confounded" about iCloud. It's quite simple really, and NOBODY is going to be "required" to purchase more iCould storage. Using iCloud with the new Photos app for OS X, and the updated Photos app with iOS will not only NOT require iCloud at all, but continue to work exactly as it does now if you choose.

     

    I love this site, but PLEASE do not turn into Cult of Morons with the stupid headlines and the commentary from authors who clearly don't know what the f3¢k they're talking about, or who clearly haven't used software/hardware they're writing about.

  • Reply 46 of 161
    I haven't signed in for years, but this post required it. The imminent release of Photos is causing a lot of confusion in regarded to how required it will be to buy iCloud space if your photos library is large, and what will happen if you don't. I switched over many friends and family years ago, and they come to me with guidance on all things apple. It's been great that I no longer get incessant calls asking for MS computer help from several people. But with the advent of iCloud and backups these calls have started again. With Photos even I am confused about how iCloud will work with it if you don't purchase more space for large photo libraries. If the experience is not seamless or if it will be required to purchase additional space to get photos to sync similar to how photostream works, I will begin searching out the best third party photo solution, since all that is needed is the ability to store, easily browse, and auto sync photos. Personal management of iCloud is a bit confusing I think, and as the writer noted, much of the confusion wouldn't be evident if more space were given to each user. This would make a much better experience for everyone and bring Apple to par with Google and Amazon.
  • Reply 47 of 161
    ash471ash471 Posts: 705member

    The best solution would be for Apple to allow unlimited storage of the photos that are on your iOS device (which has limited storage to begin with) and then provide a syncing service with limited storage (for anything including docs, photos deleted off iPhone, etc).  If iCloud syncs your photos to another storage location, it can delete the copy in iCloud as you run out of iCloud space.  The only time you would need a warning is if you don't have it saved anywhere else.  This solution allows iCloud users to use any storage space they want and use Apple for the syncing.  For those of us that have 10 terabytes of hard drive space at home, we'll just use that. 

  • Reply 48 of 161
    The best article I've seen on AI to date. Honest and no fanboy feel to it.

    I think the best solution is to get the equivalent in iCloud storage to what is on each iOS device you have. If you have three 16GB iPhones, then you should get 48GB of space on iCloud. Buy a 128GB iPad and get 128GB on iCloud.

    Bake the price of the cloud storage into the price of the devices.
  • Reply 49 of 161
    ash471ash471 Posts: 705member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by leodavinci0 View Post



    I haven't signed in for years, but this post required it. The imminent release of Photos is causing a lot of confusion in regarded to how required it will be to buy iCloud space if your photos library is large, and what will happen if you don't. I switched over many friends and family years ago, and they come to me with guidance on all things apple. It's been great that I no longer get incessant calls asking for MS computer help from several people. But with the advent of iCloud and backups these calls have started again. With Photos even I am confused about how iCloud will work with it if you don't purchase more space for large photo libraries. If the experience is not seamless or if it will be required to purchase additional space to get photos to sync similar to how photostream works, I will begin searching out the best third party photo solution, since all that is needed is the ability to store, easily browse, and auto sync photos. Personal management of iCloud is a bit confusing I think, and as the writer noted, much of the confusion wouldn't be evident if more space were given to each user. This would make a much better experience for everyone and bring Apple to par with Google and Amazon.



    Agreed.  The problem is nobody knows how iCloud works.  I found out the hard way that iCloud doesn't back up your contacts.  iCloud stores your contacts, but it doesn't back them up. A family member added an iOS devices to my account and replaced my 10 years of contacts with the blank slate from the new device.  iCloud propagated the blank slate to itself and all 5 of my other devices.  Apple had no way to get it back.  It never occurred to me that I could lose my contacts from 5 personal devices and iCloud all at the same time with no way to recover it.  Tell me that isn't f'd up?  

  • Reply 50 of 161
    ash471ash471 Posts: 705member

    Another thing Apple could do is build a syncing service similar to AeroFS (or acquire AeroFS).  AeroFS makes a syncing service that is just like DropBox, but there is no cloud.  The syncing is just between your own devices.  Apple could add limited iCloud storage to AeroFS and users would still be able to sync all their photos to a personal device.  

  • Reply 51 of 161
    ash471 wrote: »
    Another thing Apple could do is build a syncing service similar to AeroFS (or acquire AeroFS).  AeroFS makes a syncing service that is just like DropBox, but there is no cloud.  The syncing is just between your own devices.  Apple could add limited iCloud storage to AeroFS and users would still be able to sync all their photos to a personal device.  

    Why would Apple need AeroFS at all? They already have the mechanics in place with Back to My Mac, which allows you to connect directly to another Apple device without needing to go through a cloud-based storage, but still uses a server in order to connect the devices via the account holder's credentials.
  • Reply 52 of 161
    Liked, Apples old way 1000 photos free, maybe 10,000 now? Then for rare occasion over have an option +$1(or so) to storage options with it like $1=1000 photos on top of a $2 20gb storage(or simular).
  • Reply 53 of 161
    coolfactor wrote: »

    Yes, I agree with this to a point. The storage equation is not quite working well. I've already had to walk my gf through upgrading her iCloud storage twice now just so that she can take pics. Yet days later, her Photos app still says that her iCloud storage is full (but it's not). Multiple device restarts has not fixed that. Apple has more work to do.

    It's in Beta still, isn't it? Doesn't this mean Apple is working on making it better?

    I am waiting for iCloud Photos to come out of beta before I consider it.

    What I have hard time understanding is what happens if your iPhone storage is 64 GB but your Photos library size on the Mac is 500 GB. How will iCloud Photos determine which photos to push to the iPhone since it can't fit the entire library there.

    I also don't quite get how the iCloud storage size will be handled among family members. If I take half of all photos with my wife taking the other half, do we both need to have 500GB of iCloud storage to accomodate the Photos library size or can we have 250 GB of iCloud storage each and pull this storage together?

    Ideally, Apple should allow to pull iCloud storage quotas together for all members under Family sharing and be able to sync photos between the Family Sharing organizer's iCloud Photo Library and each Family Sharing member.

    There should also be an option to sync a particular photo to the personal iCloud account for each Family Sharing member.
  • Reply 54 of 161
    There ARE other ways to back up your iPhone/iPad than iCloud.

    Back up to your own external hard drive, DropBox or Google's cloud, etc. Much less confusing to me. And less expensive!
  • Reply 55 of 161
    megalaser wrote: »
    Well sorry, with all these things at least a tiny amount of thinking is required - Apple makes things very user friendly and easy to use but they shouldn't be dumbing down to the point of being ridiculous and pandering to people who don't wish to think or do anything except play candy crush. Also no I don't think it needs to be free, who exactly would that attract? Kids who can't stop taking selfies with no restriction whatsoever - is that what the world's greatest computer and technology company should be doing? Apple should be making existing features work reliably and adding exciting new ones, not trying to get more teenage kids to run riot in the Apple Stores or encourage the 'I want it free' selfie mentality.
    iCloud is confusing. I stopped using it and use the vastly simpler OneDrive and Google Drive.
  • Reply 56 of 161
    Originally Posted by megalaser View Post

    Also no I don't think it needs to be free, who exactly would that attract?



    Socialists. *womp womp*

  • Reply 57 of 161
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by megalaser View Post



    Well sorry, with all these things at least a tiny amount of thinking is required - Apple makes things very user friendly and easy to use but they shouldn't be dumbing down to the point of being ridiculous and pandering to people who don't wish to think or do anything except play candy crush. Also no I don't think it needs to be free, who exactly would that attract? Kids who can't stop taking selfies with no restriction whatsoever - is that what the world's greatest computer and technology company should be doing? Apple should be making existing features work reliably and adding exciting new ones, not trying to get more teenage kids to run riot in the Apple Stores or encourage the 'I want it free' selfie mentality.

     

    I kind of agree. I don't respect or sympathize with people who spend $700 or whatever on an iPhone, use it for dozens or hundreds of tasks every single day, is the most important single device they own, and yet can't be fucking bothered to spend a few minutes to understand the most basic and fundamental options. I'm the Apple "go-to" guy for everyone I know, and I get constant calls, emails, Qs about the most basic stuff, from people who have basically never even bothered to venture into the settings app. It's not rocket science. 5 min on Apple's website would give a very good idea of what iCloud is and what it does, and how to enable backups. If I buy and use something, I'll be damned sure to learn about it so I can use it to the fullest. I'm not talking about learning the finest settings, and I'm not referring to 80yr old grandmothers, which understandable cant wrap their heads around the cloud (though my grandma can, and has a 5C). I'm talking about young people who are too fucking lazy to learn anything about the device they just bought, beyond facebook, texting, and candycrush, and then howl and whine when something goes wrong because of an incorrect setting.

     

    That being said, most people are fucking stupid and lazy, so it would probably serve Apple best to raise the free tier to 10GB, in order to save itself millions of support calls and a lowered user experience. 

  • Reply 58 of 161
    pfisher wrote: »
    iCloud is confusing. I stopped using it and use the vastly simpler OneDrive and Google Drive.

    I would NEVER trust my data to Google. With any Google service (at least a free one), you are a product, not a client.

    Additionally, back four years ago, they "lost" my gmail account along with 0.0017% of Gmail user accounts. I thought I lost all of my important documents I had there. It took them over a week to restore my account. Since then, I do not rely on any service that is "free".
  • Reply 59 of 161

    iTunes Match is not "flawless". Far from it.

     

    My library has over 25,000 songs and, once you hit that limit, you're screwed. Nothing really works again. You can't increase it by "buying more". You can't manage what's stored in "the cloud". 

     

    Once you hit that limit - game over.

     

    On the other hand, for the same $25, Google will store 250,000 songs.

     

    Apple is doing some serious "footgun" here by being stingy, and all the while sitting on a huge pile of cash. Someone needs a whack from a cluestick so that the "user experience" gets back to the region where it should be.

  • Reply 60 of 161
    If you are a Windows or Android user who is just a bit interested in Apple products, Apple will give you 5GB of free iCloud service so you can try it out.

    On the other hand, if you buy a $3000 iMac, a $900 iPad and a $800 iPhone, Apple will give you ... 5GB of free iCloud service which you will find completely unusable.

    Shouldn't Apple grant additional lifetime iCloud storage as a perk for buying their expensive hardware while also making most of their new OS features and app features useable?
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