I agree that that sucks, but the word you are looking for is "expensive" (or even "poor value"), but not "poor"
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Apple Accused of Trapping 40 Million UK Customers Into iCloud Service
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I agree that that sucks, but the word you are looking for is "expensive" (or even "poor value"), but not "poor"
Sync between Apple devices and Apple applications are best handled by Apple, and other operators should keep their greasy fingers out of it. Use it to sync devices.
Backup is a different matter. Anyone can place their backup of a iPhone/iPad wherever they they like at whatever price they can achieve using a Mac, Windows PC or a Linux computer. Just remember that there is no reason to provide even more vendors with access to whatever content you have.
Personally I keep it on a portable SSD which will burn if the house does.
I still wonder why Apple don't sell a combination of a HomePod and Time Capsule that lets you use point iCloud towards your own private server for backups. Local home office access would be instantaneous and running multiple models would let you RAID or Mirror for extra storage or multiple backups. You could also instruct Siri to cache all your media purchases or planned evening viewing for faster access when the netrwork is busy.
HUH? I am confused, no one is forcing me to use iCloud service lol. It's just part of the integrated of Apple ecosystem. I get it the European can makes thing better for everyone like USB-C standard but please don't overstep and telling company what not to do or should do.
It's the company's product, their choices and designs. Don't like it, don't buy it.
It's the company's product, their choices and designs. Don't like it, don't buy it.
We've got a family subscription to iCloud with upgraded storage. I think it is excellent value. All Photo's and Videos of all family members are automatically backedup and synchronized across devices.
As my second phone is an android I've also got a Google subscription, and my photos etc have a second backup there as well.
And for files I've got Google Workspace and Google Drive on the phone, I've got Microsoft 365 for 2 companies on the phone (and other devices) with OneDrive. And then I've also got dropbox.
Oh and at home my NAS provides laptop devices timemachine backups (with offsite storage).
I really don't see what the issue is. You can do it all. For specific apps the apps either sync using iCloud (nobody would be using up the free tier for that), or using social media accounts etc.
Perhaps I'm not getting something.
As my second phone is an android I've also got a Google subscription, and my photos etc have a second backup there as well.
And for files I've got Google Workspace and Google Drive on the phone, I've got Microsoft 365 for 2 companies on the phone (and other devices) with OneDrive. And then I've also got dropbox.
Oh and at home my NAS provides laptop devices timemachine backups (with offsite storage).
I really don't see what the issue is. You can do it all. For specific apps the apps either sync using iCloud (nobody would be using up the free tier for that), or using social media accounts etc.
Perhaps I'm not getting something.
Well, Time Capsule didn’t work exactly well, especially the first version: they died after a few months (usually 6 to 9).
Btw Apple could just raise the free version of iCloud from 5 to 20 GB. It should be enough for basic usage.
Sure, the only caveat is one has to win. Obviously these people think they have a case, but time will tell.
Mine worked flawlessly but I can't recall which gen I had. Still, I think it would be a nice product nowadays. Throw it in the rumored Smart Home Display and that would be an awesome combo – a device that controls all of your home accessories, is an interior design piece and backs up your all of your personal data automatically.
You don't get it. 5GB in iCloud storage is equivalent to 10GB with other providers.
Such as?
I agree apple deliberately locking out choice is a bad thing though
Still at the forefront of chip design for phones with Android
You are being forced to use icloud if you want to buy Apple Hardware
Apple experience is all about hardware and software working together. If you are looking for something else just buy a different brand. There are alternatives
I think you missed the point I was trying to make.
Apple make their money when I buy an iPhone. I should then be able to use whatever service I would like to use to back up my iPhone that I paid a lot of money for. If no one else made a service fair enough. Apple actively preventing this is not ok.
This line of reasoning never makes sense. Apple offering options does not stop their hardware and software from working together. Apple offering RCS did not stop iMessage from working, being able to install 3rd party software and having it work seamlessly does not stop Apple from creating a seamless experience within their own products and services. Having a duopoly in mobile operating systems is a false choice and Apple using their position to artificially restrict 3rd party services is what is rightfully being called out here.
I’ve got your point, but that’s Apple, for bad and for good. If you don’t like it, just buy something else
You’re paying for the extra 10GB with your data. I’d rather pay the $1 than allow my data to be used for building a profile which is then sold for the highest bidder.
The idea that free markets must exclude ANY BARRIER to entry to competitors is a nonsensical fiction being peddled by people who don't actually want free markets.
Apple is not required to offer anything for free. What gave you this idea? Apple and Google are competitors in business. If you find Google's offering to be better for you, then use it. Period. Nothing else in your arguments makes any sense.
Your funeral. You state facts without understanding the entire problem domain. I do understand it, in extreme detail.
The underlying block storage for the cloud provider has however many nines yes but that doesn’t stop problems above that level of abstraction not the complexity of distributed systems.
So let’s throw some scenarios on the table:
1. Your machine gets malware on it. That modifies files. Files are automatically synchronised to the cloud. You’re stuffed. OneDrive and iCloud at least have dubious recovery and history capabilities. That is because inactive data is pushed onto lower redundancy and/or lower cost storage with no SLA recovery times on the data. Sometimes it doesn’t even exist (iCloud is good at this). I have seen data loss.
2. Your machine has a bug in the client that drives the cloud API. This one is a fun one I came across a while back for a client. Transactional semantics are quite difficult to understand over multiple HTTP requests and there are no completion guarantees. I have seen data loss.
3. Some opaque abstractions use CRDTs to synchronise complex data structures rather than files. Most of the Apple stuff uses this rather than files. Google and Microsoft as well - some things are not even files. The resolution process when there are conflicting changes on multiple devices does not necessarily act intuitively. This will cause data loss. I have seen it.
The end game is of course that at some point you will need to recover from a “source of truth” and that should be an offline copy you have as well as the cloud which mitigates the risk of the cloud doing the above things, which do actually happen.
That is not to suggest you don’t use the cloud but it insulates you from very few real life issues. It is mostly a convenience. It is definitely not a backup.
Another thought experiment: your house burns down with your only iPhone and iPad and Mac in it. How do you get access to your data? I’ve got an off site backup AND a yubikey stored elsewhere. What have you got?
For ref this was my job for a number of years on a not too trivial sized investment company so I speak from experience of designing DR strategies as well as playing them out. You speak of ignorance and happy rainbow fairy stories only and it’s disingenuous to let you make this point and risk other people’s data.
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Where do people come up with these arguments? Nobody is forcing anything. Apple is providing a service that you can either use or not use.
Then lets put in terms of ownership: Its my data, not Apples. I should be able to extract it from their servers in a few clicks instead of labourously copy and pasting things. A lack of fluidity between platforms is a barrier to customer migration and therefore by definition a lock-in. Once again, I am happy with my data in iCloud but it should be easier to extract on Android and Windows because Apple make it easier to do the opposite on their own platforms.
All you're saying is that redundacy is good. That different systems have different strengths and weaknesses. These are all obvious points. Is Apple's iCloud service best for enterprise users? Probably not. But is iCloud great for the average consumer who will rarely have the knowledge or expertise to set up their own NAS system or other such services? iCloud has made millions of average users of Apple products much more secure. Period.
Just because one has technical level knowledge about the nuances of cloud storage does not mean that knowledge or its application has much bearing on whether or not average iPhone consumers should or should not use iCloud services. Different markets, different needs.