Goodbye Dropbox! iCloud Drive will gain a Home Screen icon in iOS9!

[Petry]

I think

Google Drive and DropBox are light years ahead of iCloud Drive. Sorry... but it's true.

that's true, mostly because of Apple's stubbornness of trying to hide the "tree structure" of IOS ecosystem, while Dropbox and Google Drive embrace it.

 

[mcmul]

Somebody mentioned that the photo library storage isn't the same as iCloud Drive. Is this true? Can you really not add files manually in iOS9?

It's stuff like this that drives me nuts with Apple, they seem to ask the question: "How do we make this more confusing than it should be?". iCloud Drive has loads of potential, as do things like family sharing for photos, but they seem to screw it up every time. The entire Western World understand the concept of a file system and working with files and folders, so why try and complicate this stuff?

 

[Petry]

Somebody mentioned that the photo library storage isn't the same as iCloud Drive. Is this true? Can you really not add files manually in iOS9?

It's stuff like this that drives me nuts with Apple, they seem to ask the question: "How do we make this more confusing than it should be?". iCloud Drive has loads of potential, as do things like family sharing for photos, but they seem to screw it up every time. The entire Western World understand the concept of a file system and working with files and folders, so why try and complicate this stuff?

As far as I know it is true. To access your photos you need to use the Apple Photos app.
Apple is always trying to push it's services to users. Since there's a 10 minute limit for any non-apple app to run in the background, Apple's service is the only one that can run intermittently. But there's no progress bar (you can't know what is already saved) and the prices are ridiculous compared to other services.
Apple claims it services are simpler, but only if you don't mind not knowing what's going on.

 

[Jmausmuc]

Doesn't really change the equation for me. I have 25GB free storage on Dropbox and 50GB free storage on Box. And both services run rings around iCloud Drive. I'm sure I'm not the only one who opened accounts when these companies were doling out decent chunks of free and inexpensive cloud storage.

But if not, iCloud is still expensive compared to Dropbox where one can get 1TB of storage for the same $10/mo as Apple's 20GB. So there is that. Apple has yet to make a compelling case for paid iCloud. IMHO it should use it as an incentive to get people to buy their hardware rather than to develop a new revenue stream from hardware. I don't think the latter is going to have much relevance to its bottom line and it just scuffs customer good will. 5GB per account, not even device owned is really an insult given how deeply imbedded Apple is trying to weave iCloud into its OSes.

With Apple you get 500GB for 10$ not 20 GB.
Please get your facts right.

 

[mtngoatjoe]

Can you open HTML files in Safari from iCloud Drive? I'd really appreciate if someone could check. Thanks!

 

[netsped]

I'll keep using Dropbox until iCloud Drive gets selective Sync. The best cloud service, for me, would be the one that offers on demand downloads. Let me see a preview of the file (like an icon) and if I need it I'll download it (and if I download it, let me choose how I delete it... locally or everywhere). I don't want to have my small SSD filled with unnecessary files nor I want to go to a web browser to see them. I think on demand downloads is the way to go.

 

[Agent-J]

Just follow the link I posted.
OneDrive for IOS skips some of the users photos, it does not returns any errors. It happens quite often, you should manually check if all your photos are being backed up.

I admit to not having run into that one, but I don't want Apple, Google, or MS having my photos, so I don't do photo backup.

 

[Alonso Quijano]

Can you open HTML files in Safari from iCloud Drive? I'd really appreciate if someone could check. Thanks!

Can't open them in safari I guess but you can read them directly in the iCloud Drive app

 

[0000757]

I never saw iCloud Drive as a Dropbox competitor honestly.

I just saw iCloud as something that would sync the documents and data between common apps on my iPhone and Mac.

I don't think I've ever used iCloud for actual storage.

It's for syncing first, storage second, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[rulymammoth]

I never saw iCloud Drive as a Dropbox competitor honestly.

I just saw iCloud as something that would sync the documents and data between common apps on my iPhone and Mac.

I don't think I've ever used iCloud for actual storage.

It's for syncing first, storage second, as far as I'm concerned.

But that's weird because iCloud Drive SHOULD be a Dropbox competitor. It's just that Apple has half-a$$ed its implementation. There's absolutely no reason why iCloud Drive can't be as full featured as Dropbox, except that perhaps Apple doesn't have the manpower to make it that good.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

With Apple you get 500GB for 10$ not 20 GB.
Please get your facts right.

Dually noted and thanks for the correction. Still doesn't materially change my argument but I agree it's important to post correct accurately.

 

[mtngoatjoe]

Can't open them in safari I guess but you can read them directly in the iCloud Drive app

Bummer. Do the links on that HTML page work? I'm also curious about javascript. I have form that performs some calculations for me, and I'd love to be able to put it page on my home screen (I just don't have a web server to serve it up to Safari, so I'm a bit stuck).

 

[Alonso Quijano]

Bummer. Do the links on that HTML page work? I'm also curious about javascript. I have form that performs some calculations for me, and I'd love to be able to put it page on my home screen (I just don't have a web server to serve it up to Safari, so I'm a bit stuck).

The links work, yes. I don't know anything about javascript, but I could test it out if you send me a link to the file and some instructions if you want?

 

[Agent-J]

But that's weird because iCloud Drive SHOULD be a Dropbox competitor. It's just that Apple has half-a$$ed its implementation. There's absolutely no reason why iCloud Drive can't be as full featured as Dropbox, except that perhaps Apple doesn't have the manpower to make it that good.

I thought it was on purpose, so people would stop thinking about filesystem structure and just start thinking about "data, out there somewhere." It does sort of make sense for people who know nothing about computers: no more "File/Open" then navigate to your data folder, etc. But for people with even marginal understanding of the concept of a filesystem, it's very unnatural. I get the idea of, say, tagging pictures, so they can all live in one great pile; but I instinctively make folders and sort them out, rather than using the colored buttons.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

I thought it was on purpose, so people would stop thinking about filesystem structure and just start thinking about "data, out there somewhere." It does sort of make sense for people who know nothing about computers: no more "File/Open" then navigate to your data folder, etc. But for people with even marginal understanding of the concept of a filesystem, it's very unnatural. I get the idea of, say, tagging pictures, so they can all live in one great pile; but I instinctively make folders and sort them out, rather than using the colored buttons.

Maybe this will change in the next decade as kids get weaned on mobile devices, but the whole filesystem concept is something that's really familiar to just about anyone who's ever used any sort of a computing device. I get what Apple's trying to do, but it doesn't strike me as a superior solution.

 

[Paradoxally]

I'd say most casual users of an iPhone have no idea what a file system even is.

Remember, this is MacRumors. We are all tech enthusiasts. We know what a file system is - heck, some of us grew up before file systems even existed.

But those millions of casual folk out there? They don't. I cannot count how many times I've had to explain to people how to stop saving every single file they download to the Desktop and how they couldn't rearrange icons by some weird shape.

 

[Pagemakers]

I'd say most casual users of an iPhone have no idea what a file system even is.

Remember, this is MacRumors. We are all tech enthusiasts. We know what a file system is - heck, some of us grew up before file systems even existed.

But those millions of casual folk out there? They don't. I cannot count how many times I've had to explain to people how to stop saving every single file they download to the Desktop and how they couldn't rearrange icons by some weird shape.

I disagree.

Almost everybody uses a computer.

It's only the iOS ecosystem that doesn't use a file system.

Having PDF files in half a dozen different folders depending on which app created them is just crazy not clever.

 

[RoboCop001]

Can't open them in safari I guess but you can read them directly in the iCloud Drive app

View attachment 560145 View attachment 560146 View attachment 560147

What app is the "Convert to PDF" from? That would be useful!

 

[Alonso Quijano]

What app is the "Convert to PDF" from? That would be useful!

Convert to PDF by Readdle

 

[batting1000]

What app is the "Convert to PDF" from? That would be useful!

Convert to PDF by Readdle

The iBooks button in the Share sheet will convert things to PDFs now as well. Not sure if it only appears in Safari though. Didn't check

 

[Alonso Quijano]

The iBooks button in the Share sheet will convert things to PDFs now as well. Not sure if it only appears in Safari though. Didn't check

Yep

 

[RoboCop001]

Convert to PDF by Readdle

The iBooks button in the Share sheet will convert things to PDFs now as well. Not sure if it only appears in Safari though. Didn't check

Awesome, thanks! I'll check out the iBooks one too.

 

[BeeGood]

But that's weird because iCloud Drive SHOULD be a Dropbox competitor. It's just that Apple has half-a$$ed its implementation. There's absolutely no reason why iCloud Drive can't be as full featured as Dropbox, except that perhaps Apple doesn't have the manpower to make it that good.

I really have no idea what Apple has done/is doing with iCloud. There is absolutely no reason why iCloud shouldn't be the obvious, #1 choice of cloud storage for iDevice users.

Not only does it lack features that it's "competitors" (can we even call this a competition?) have, but it is so absurdly late to the party. This should have been out 3 years ago when people were begging for a file storage solution. Most people have long since moved on with Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive and with extensions being used more and more, I don't think I even have an incentive to try iCloud storage.

 

[Hrhnick]

I disagree.

Almost everybody uses a computer.

It's only the iOS ecosystem that doesn't use a file system.

Having PDF files in half a dozen different folders depending on which app created them is just crazy not clever.

And people still files and folders in the root of their drive on PCs and Macs, Documents in their Pictures folder, Pictures in their Movies folder.

I have migrated a lot of data for clients, and its a headache seeing where some of them "organize" their files.

 

[Pagemakers]

And people still files and folders in the root of their drive on PCs and Macs, Documents in their Pictures folder, Pictures in their Movies folder.

I have migrated a lot of data for clients, and its a headache seeing where some of them "organize" their files.

I have half a dozen apps that create PDFs.

On iOS if I want to open a PDF file I have to first remember which app created it because it could be in any one of half a dozen!

If I try to find it directly in iCloud which app saved it so I know which folder to look in!!!