iCloud is cloud storage service and cloud computing from Apple Inc. launched on October 12, 2011. In February 2016, the service has 782 million users.
This service provides the means for its users to store data such as documents, photos and music on the remote server for download to iOS, macOS or Windows devices, to share and send data to other users, and to manage their Apple devices if lost or stolen.
The service also provides a means to back up iOS devices wirelessly directly to iCloud, rather than relying on manual backup to a Mac or Windows host computer using iTunes. Users of the service can also instantly share photos, music and games by linking accounts via AirDrop wireless.
It replaces Apple's MobileMe service, acting as a data synchronization center for emails, contacts, calendars, bookmarks, notes, reminders (to-do list), iWork documents, photos and other data.
One Apple iCloud data center is located in Maiden, North Carolina, USA.
Starting in 2011, iCloud is based on Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure (Apple iOS Security white paper published in 2014, Apple recognizes that encrypted iOS files are stored on Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure). In 2016, Apple signed an agreement with Google to use Google Cloud Platform for some iCloud services.
In October 2016, Bloomberg reported that Apple is working on a Pie Project aimed at increasing the speed and experience of Apple's online service by being operated more directly by Apple. It is also reported that Apple will relocate all its service employees to Apple Campus (1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California), as many other employees will move to Apple Park.
Video ICloud
Histori
iCloud was announced on June 6, 2011, at the Apples Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 (WWDC). Apple announced that MobileMe will be discontinued after June 30, 2012, with anyone who has an account prior to the opening of iCloud having their MobileMe service extended to that date, for free.
The official website, www.icloud.com, airs in early August for Apple Developers. On October 12, 2011, iCloud is available for use through iTunes updates. iCloud has 20 million users in less than a week after launch. The iCloud.com domain and registered trademarks were purchased from a Swedish company called Xcerion, which turned their service into CloudMe. Apple now controls major domains such as iCloud.de, iCloud.fr and iCloud.es.
Class action lawsuits by unhappy customers over the transition from MobileMe to iCloud filed in early May 2012.
Maps ICloud
Announcement
The first official mention of iCloud from Apple came on May 31, 2011, when a press release announced that it would show service at WWDC on June 6, 2011. A banner hanged at the Moscone Center for WWDC revealed the iCloud logo five days before its official launch.
In a major WWDC 2011 speech, Apple announced iCloud would replace MobileMe services and that basic iCloud services would be free of cost.
Features
The cloud-based system allows users to store music, photos, applications, documents, bookmarks, reminders, backups, notes, iBooks, and contacts, and provides a platform for Apple email and calendar servers. Third-party iOS and macOS app developers can implement iCloud functionality in their apps via the iCloud API.
Backup and restore
iCloud allows users to back up settings and data on iOS devices running iOS 5 or later. Backed up data includes photos and videos in Camera Roll, device settings, app data, messages (iMessage, SMS, and MMS), ringtones, and Voice Mail. Backups happen every day when the device is locked and connected to Wi-Fi and resources. If there is any malfunction of any Apple device, during the recovery process, iCloud offers to recover all data along with App data only if the device is synced to iCloud and backed up.
Back to My Mac
Back to My Mac, also previously part of MobileMe, is now part of iCloud. As before, this service allows users to log in remotely to another computer that has Back to My Mac enabled and is configured with the same Apple ID.
The iCloud account includes email accounts, such as MobileMe,.Mac, and iTools before. Unlike MobileMe and previous iterations, an email address is an optional part of the iCloud account, where users can choose not to use it but can still use email as their Apple iCloud ID. Email accounts can be accessed using a compatible IMAP standard email client, as well as an online web application mail client at iCloud.com. In addition, on iOS devices, iCloud email is push-enabled.
Users who change their existing MobileMe account to iCloud account store the existing "@ me.com" email address, and users whose accounts are dated MobileMe and have both me.com and mac.com email addresses stored both. Just like the transition.Mac to MobileMe, existing users should keep their old address and also get the new matching iCloud.com address, so messages sent to valid accounts with multiple addresses all end up in the same inbox.
Find My Friends
Find My Friends is a new feature introduced to iCloud on iOS 5. Find My Friends is very similar to Find My iPhone, unless users can share their location with friends or other families using the feature. Along with the iOS 5 launch, Apple released an app to Find My Friends. iOS 6 adds location-based alerts to notify users when the device arrives at a specific location. On iOS 9 Find My Friends Built into the device and can not be deleted. In October 2015, Find My Friends added to iCloud.com to see other "friends" locations.
Find My iPhone
Find My iPhone, formerly part of MobileMe, allows users to track the location of their iOS or Mac devices. A user can see the approximate location of the device on the map (along with a circle representing a radius depicting the margin of error), show messages and/or play sounds on the device (though set to silent), change passwords on the device, and remotely wipe the contents. This feature was first announced on June 10, 2009 and is included in the iOS 3.0 software update as a feature to pay MobileMe users. Discover my iPhone is made free with iOS 4.2.1 software updates on November 22, 2010, but only for devices introduced in 2010. The iOS app was also released by Apple on June 18, 2010, allowing users to find devices from other iOS devices that run iOS 4 or later software. On iOS 5, Find My iPhone continues as a feature for iCloud. iOS 6 introduces Lost Mode, a new feature that lets users mark the device as "lost," making it easier to protect and discover. This feature also allows someone who finds a lost iPhone user to call the user directly without opening it. Similar phone search services with various names are available for other smartphone families.
Key Activation was introduced in 2013 with iOS 7. It integrates with iCloud and Find My iPhone features. This new feature locks the restored Apple, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple clock activation in either DFU or Recovery mode without first disabling the Find My iPhone feature. After the recovery is complete, the device will request the Apple ID and password previously associated with it, to resume activation, which ultimately prevents stolen devices from being able to use.
Start iOS 9, Find my iPhone is a native app, and as such can not be deleted.
iCloud Key Chain
iTunes Match
iTunes Match debuted on November 14, 2011. Originally available to US users only. For annual fees, customers can scan and match tracks in their iTunes music library, including tracks copied from CDs or other sources, with tracks in the iTunes Store, so customers do not have to buy back the song. Subscribers can download up to 100,000 tracks in a 256 Kbit/s DRM free AAC file format that matches tracks in supported audio file formats in the customer's iTunes library, including ALAC and MP3. Customers also have the option to store their original copies stored on their computers or have been replaced by copies of the iTunes Store. Any music not available on the iTunes Store is uploaded for download to other devices and computers supported by customers; doing this will not take storage of the customer's iCloud storage allowance. Any tracks stored in ALAC audio without loss of high quality, or uncompressed PCM format, WAV, and AIFF, are transcoded to the STM-free Abit 256 format before uploading to a customer's iCloud storage account, leaving the original local file higher quality in its original format.
If the user stops paying for the iTunes Match service, all copies of the DRM-free iTunes Store DRAC version of songs downloaded to any device may be stored either on iOS devices or on a computer.
From iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, iTunes Radio functionality will be available across devices, including integration with Music apps, both on portable iOS devices and Apple TV (second generation onwards), as well as in iTunes apps on Macintosh and Windows computers. This will be included in the ad-free version for iTunes Match service customers and currently only available in the US and Australia
Streaming Genius shuffle is not available in current iOS versions but is available on iTunes on Mac.
On January 28, 2016, ad free iTunes Radio was discontinued and therefore no longer part of iTunes Match.
On March 26, 2014, iTunes Match is available in 116 countries, while iTunes in the Cloud is available in 155 countries.
iWork for iCloud
During the Conference Conference of Apple Worldwide Developers (WWDC) 2013, iWork for iCloud is announced to be released at the same time as the next version of the iWork app version later this year. Three applications for iOS and macos that make up Apple's iWork suite (Page, Number and Keynote), will be available in the web interface (named as Pages for iCloud, Numbers for iCloud, and Keynote for iCloud), and accessed through the iCloud website below every user, Apple ID iCloud ID. They will also sync with iOS users and macOS versions of the app, if they have it, again through their Apple iCloud ID.
It allows users to edit and create documents on the web, using one of the supported browsers; currently Safari, Chrome, and Internet Explorer. This also means that Microsoft Windows users now have access to these original Apple device document editing tools, through the web interface.
Photo Flow
Photo Stream is a service provided with a basic iCloud service that allows users to store the latest 1000 photos on iCloud servers up to 30 days for free. When a photo is taken on a device with Photo Stream activated, the photo will be automatically uploaded to the iCloud server; from there, automatically pushed to all registered devices of the user. Photos in Photo Stream will be automatically deleted from other devices after the user reaches the limit of 1,000 photos or 30 days. Users who use Photo Stream on their Mac or PC can choose to permanently store all photos on their computer - their photos in Photo Stream will not be removed from the computer when they exit the Photo Stream after the user reaches 1,000 - photos or 30 days limit. This service is also integrated with Apple TV, allowing users to view their latest photos wirelessly on their HDTV.
iCloud Photo Library
iCloud Photo Library is a feature on iOS 8.1 or later and the newer OS X Yosemite (version 10.10), plus web app access. The service saves all user photos, retaining their original resolutions and metadata. Users can access their iCloud Photo Library on supported devices through the new Photos app when available or through the iCloud.com iCloud Photo Library web app, which helps limit the amount of local storage each device needs to use to store photos (especially those with storage capacity which is smaller) by storing a low resolution version of the device, with the user having the option to save some/all of it locally stored at a higher resolution.
Storage
Since its introduction in 2011, each account has 5 GB of free storage for iOS device owners using iOS 5.x or later, or a Mac using OS X Lion 10.7 or later. Users can purchase additional storage for a total of 50 GB, 200GB or 2TB. The amount of storage is shared across all devices per Apple iCloud ID.
Some of the original features of iCloud use iCloud storage allowances for each user, specifically, Backup and restore, and send email, Contacts and Calendars. On a Mac, users can also store most types of files into the iCloud folder they choose, rather than just storing them locally on the computer. While Photo Stream uses the iCloud server, the usage does not come out of the user's iCloud storage allowance. This also applies to iTunes Match music content, even for music that is not sold on the iTunes Store and uploaded into iCloud storage, is not included in the user allowance. Other apps may optionally integrate application storage from the user's iCloud storage allowance.
Not all user content is considered part of their iCloud storage allowance. Apple may keep a permanent trail of every user purchased under their Apple ID account, and by associating each piece of content with the user, it means that only one copy of each Store item is required to be stored on Apple's servers. For items purchased from the iTunes Store (music, music videos, movies, TV shows), iBooks Store (book) or App Store (iOS app), it uses Apple's iTunes call service on Cloud, allowing users to automatically, or manual if preferred, re-download all their previous purchases to a Mac, PC or iOS device. Downloadable (or streamed, provided users are connected to the Internet) iTunes Store Content can be used on all these devices, but while iBooks Store and App Store content can be downloaded to Mac and PC to sync to iOS devices only iOS and Mac devices - and their respective apps - can be used to read books. Similarly, macOS apps purchased from Mac App Store also link to the Apple ID where they are purchased, and can be downloaded to any Mac using the same Apple ID. Additionally, when a user enrolls a new device, all previously purchased Store content may be downloaded from Store servers, or non-Store content from the iCloud server.
iCloud Drive
iCloud Drive is an iCloud file hosting service for devices running iOS 8, OS X Yosemite (version 10.10), or Windows 7 or later, plus online web application access via iCloud.com. This feature allows users to store all types of files, including photos, videos, documents, music and other app data, on iCloud Drive and access them on Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, or Windows PC. Users can start their work on one device and continue on another device. By default, users will still get 5 GB of free storage as before, but the expandable storage plan available has increased in size (up to 2Ã, TB of space) and changed to the monthly subscription option of the yearly offered under the -iCloud Drive service.
On iOS 11, iCloud Drive has been integrated into the new "File" app, replacing standalone iCloud Drive apps.
Messages in iCloud
Messages in iCloud is a feature that stores all user iMessages and SMS text stored in the cloud. Messages are synced on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
System requirements
Creating an iCloud account requires an iOS device running iOS 5 or newer or a Mac running OS X Lion v10.7.5 or later.
Online access to iCloud requires a web browser that is compatible, and certain features have their own minimum OS version requirements. For example. using iCloud Photo Sharing requires OS X Mavericks v10.9 or higher on a Mac.
Devices running older versions of macOS (before Mavericks) or iOS (under 7) may not be able to sign in to iCloud after the iCloud password has been changed: the only resolution for this issue is to update the OS, which may not be possible on a device that does not meet the minimum requirements of newer OS.
Sync with PC requires Windows 7 or later and uses the iCloud Control Panel, and optionally Outlook 2007 or later or the built-in Windows 10 Calendar and Calendar apps to sync Calendar, Contacts and Reminders. Users must have Apple devices to set iCloud for Windows.
Bookmarks sync requires Safari 5.1.1 or later on macOS, and Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 22 or Google Chrome 28 or later on Windows.
MobileMe account users can move their accounts into iCloud accounts, keeping the same account details.
Criticism
iCloud has been criticized by third-party developers for bugs that make some features virtually unusable under previous iOS and macOS versions, in particular the use of Core Data in iCloud, to store and sync large amounts of data between third-party apps on users' devices.
Third-party developers have reported that the changes implemented in iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks release (version 10.9) overcame this iCloud critique.
Name dispute
iCloud Communications, a telecommunications company in Arizona, sued Apple in June 2011 for trademark infringement shortly after Apple announced iCloud. The suit was filed in the Arizona District Court of Arizona and demanded that Apple stop using the iCloud name and pay unspecified monetary compensation. iCloud Communications changed its name to Clear Digital Communications in August 2011 and canceled its lawsuit against Apple soon.
Privacy
Apple's iCloud service, including iCloud Drive and iOS device backup, does not provide end-to-end encryption, also known as client-side encryption, and without end-to-end encryption, user information is left unsafe as it is easily accessible to people who are not authorized.
As of August 2014, it was reported that hackers have found an exploit involving Find My iPhone service, potentially allowing attackers to force forced Apple ID users and access their iCloud data. The exploits were then mistakenly reported to have been used as part of a leak in August 2014 of a large number of nude photographs of celebrities who had been synced to their iCloud storage from their iPhone. Apple confirmed that it is working with law enforcement agencies to investigate the leak. Apple later denied that the iCloud service itself or the alleged exploit was responsible for the leak, insisting that the leak was the result of a highly targeted phishing attack against celebrities. On September 13, 2014 Tim Cook, interviewed by Charlie Rose, stated on camera that a celebrity leak is not an iCloud exploit at all, but celebrities have been fraught with highly targeted phishing to trick them from their login credentials.
Furthermore, when announcing Apple Pay, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a raft of measures to improve security including raising awareness of their two-factor authentication process.
Data loss
Bugs in iCloud Drive can cause data loss. For example, moving a set of files from iCloud Drive if they have not been synced will cause them to disappear.
See also
- Comparison of file hosting services
- Comparison of the online backup service
- Comparison of online music lockers
- Cloud Reserve
- File hosting service
References
External links
- iCloud - the official site
- iCloud on Apple
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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