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iTom17

macrumors 6502a
Aug 2, 2013
967
1,130
Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Not sure if I get you correctly, but iCloud Drive already did work like Dropbox. In the Finder it shows as a regular folder where you can put in all kinds of files (including files that Apple wouldn't even be supporting), which you can access from anywhere using iCloud.com in the browser or iCloud Control Panel on Windows.

Again, maybe you mean something else?
 
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matjamca

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 2, 2013
271
286
St Helens, Merseyside, England
With Dropbox, there is a feature called Selective Sync which allows you to choose what folders you would like to Sync. I don't think that feature exists in iCloud. I might be wrong.

Also, with iCloud I uploaded a large number of video files on one Mac, so I could access them from all my Mac's, Phone and Tablet. However, iCloud Drive downloaded all the content to another Mac automatically taking up all my disk space.

Maybe I did something wrong?
 
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Phil A.

Moderator emeritus
Apr 2, 2006
5,800
3,100
Shropshire, UK
Not sure if I get you correctly, but iCloud Drive already did work like Dropbox. In the Finder it shows as a regular folder where you can put in all kinds of files (including files that Apple wouldn't even be supporting), which you can access from anywhere using iCloud.com in the browser or iCloud Control Panel on Windows.

Again, maybe you mean something else?
iCloud Drive currently works like a very rudimentary version of Dropbox - no selective syncing, no partial uploads and no sync over LAN for starters: I'm guessing the OP was asking if they'd addressed any of the limitations in the Beta.

I'd like to know the answer to that too :)
 
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matjamca

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 2, 2013
271
286
St Helens, Merseyside, England
Another issue with iCloud Drive. On iPhone, you cannot create folders within the app and you cannot manually copy photos from the photos app like you can with Dropbox and Google Drive. If I'm missing something, I'm happy to stand corrected.
 
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KALLT

macrumors 603
Sep 23, 2008
5,380
3,415
Another issue with iCloud Drive. On iPhone, you cannot create folders within the app and you cannot manually copy photos from the photos app like you can with Dropbox and Google Drive. If I'm missing something, I'm happy to stand corrected.

That's because the iCloud Drive 'app' is really just a document picker. Apple is still opposed to the idea of introducing a file manager to iOS.
 

Ritsuka

Cancelled
Sep 3, 2006
1,464
969
You can already create a new folder in the iCloud Drive app, but you have to press the "Select" button for the "New folder" button to be shown.
In 10.12 there will be a "optimise storage" feature, I guess it will decide by itself which file to keep on the disk and which to keep only on the server.
 

jarodlee88

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2016
40
14
Almost exactly the same as Dropbox but it integrates better with iOS and macOS. Hopefully this helps
 

matjamca

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 2, 2013
271
286
St Helens, Merseyside, England
You can already create a new folder in the iCloud Drive app, but you have to press the "Select" button for the "New folder" button to be shown.
In 10.12 there will be a "optimise storage" feature, I guess it will decide by itself which file to keep on the disk and which to keep only on the server.

Thanks for helping me figure out a new folder in iCloud Drive. Now said folder is created, do you know how to transfer photos to it? Is this even possible like it is with Dropbox and Google Drive?
 

stevemiller

macrumors 68020
Oct 27, 2008
2,055
1,606
I'm trying to find more information about the desktop and documents folder synching between devices. ideally i'd like the mac to be my "server" and the other devices can just on demand access files from it. would be awesome if it had power nap like functionality of letting us do this even on sleeping devices. but i'm assuming this is just a gambit to encourage people to buy a sizeable iCloud drive plan so you store everything on apple's servers (no thanks).
 

saudor

macrumors 68000
Jul 18, 2011
1,511
2,114
Dropbox has the best delta sync. (Edit a 1gb file, only a part of it gets uploaded/synced)

iCloud drive does this to SOME degree but in many cases (100% on a PC), any small edits causes the entire 1gb file to upload/download.
 
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dsjr2006

macrumors regular
Jun 29, 2007
114
12
Metro Detroit
How can Apple promote the new "Optimize Storage" option, which keeps files in iCloud, if Apple doesn't offer selective syncing? Doesn't make much since to try and encourage people to upload to iCloud, when all of the information ends up back on the devices.
I assume it's working similar to Fusion Drive where it weighs several factors to decide where to store files.
 

insomniac86

macrumors 6502a
Oct 13, 2015
607
908
Perth, Western Australia
Almost exactly the same as Dropbox but it integrates better with iOS and macOS. Hopefully this helps

Oh dude, you really don't use dropbox. Dropbox is far far better in many ways. Selective Sync, Local LAN sync, permissions sharing.

Try this one for me: Open the Photos up on your iPhone and save a photo to an iCloud Drive folder. Oh wait what! You can't. Now press the share icon in Photos and save to Dropbox. OMG you can. Dropbox has better integration in iOS than Apples on iCloud Drive.
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
35,573
52,306
In a van down by the river
I assume it's working similar to Fusion Drive where it weighs several factors to decide where to store files.
My point is, that the new "Optimize Storage" feature is (for the most part) smoke and mirrors, as there is no selective sync, not to mention the files (unless deemed old by Apple) stay on your iCloud Drive enabled devices. I don't understand why Apple doesn't implement selective sync with iCloud. I would be willing to wager, that Apple would see an increase is storage subscriptions, not to mention a lot more happy customers, who wish to have a more direct say as to when files get sent to iCloud Drive and when they don't.
 
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grahamperrin

macrumors 601
Jun 8, 2007
4,942
648
Related: Optimizing storage?

… Doesn't make much since to try and encourage people to upload to iCloud, when all of the information ends up back on the devices.

Not all.

Dropbox has the best delta sync. (Edit a 1gb file, only a part of it gets uploaded/synced) …

Is everything, including the delta, encrypted before transport and does it remain encrypted whilst away from local storage?

Postscript: apparently not – https://www.dropbox.com/help/1968
 
Last edited:

jarodlee88

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2016
40
14
Oh dude, you really don't use dropbox. Dropbox is far far better in many ways. Selective Sync, Local LAN sync, permissions sharing.

Try this one for me: Open the Photos up on your iPhone and save a photo to an iCloud Drive folder. Oh wait what! You can't. Now press the share icon in Photos and save to Dropbox. OMG you can. Dropbox has better integration in iOS than Apples on iCloud Drive.
Honestly, I don't really use Dropbox as the free storage amount is only 2 GBs? And also, can you backup you iOS devices to Dropbox? I don't think so
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,156
Oh dude, you really don't use dropbox. Dropbox is far far better in many ways. Selective Sync, Local LAN sync, permissions sharing.

Try this one for me: Open the Photos up on your iPhone and save a photo to an iCloud Drive folder. Oh wait what! You can't. Now press the share icon in Photos and save to Dropbox. OMG you can. Dropbox has better integration in iOS than Apples on iCloud Drive.

Doesn't iCloud Photo Library do that already? Aren't they sharing the same online data pool?

Don't mistake this message as condescending because I actually curious.

To me it seems redundant to store pictures from a device to other devices that already have access to those pics. I can think of a few things but they are generally rare circumstances.
 

matjamca

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 2, 2013
271
286
St Helens, Merseyside, England
Doesn't iCloud Photo Library do that already? Aren't they sharing the same online data pool?

Don't mistake this message as condescending because I actually curious.

To me it seems redundant to store pictures from a device to other devices that already have access to those pics. I can think of a few things but they are generally rare circumstances.

It does, but I don't want ALL my pictures in the photos app. I like to keep more personal photos out of the photos app. Having the ability to save photos into separate folders like on the Mac is soooooooo much better.
 

grahamperrin

macrumors 601
Jun 8, 2007
4,942
648
… it seems redundant to store pictures from a device to other devices that already have access to those pics. …

+1

I don't use Sierra but I imagine that:
  • its optimised storage option (link above) will be comparable to Upthere
  • when iCloud Drive is used with APFS, the multi-key encryption will be appealing.
 

insomniac86

macrumors 6502a
Oct 13, 2015
607
908
Perth, Western Australia
Honestly, I don't really use Dropbox as the free storage amount is only 2 GBs? And also, can you backup you iOS devices to Dropbox? I don't think so
Just because you can't backup a device image to dropbox doesn't mean that iCloud's integration is tighter. Because it certainly is not.

I'd say that dropbox is for your documents, pics, project data etc, aka a cloud file system...not a backup target for your device. So imo saying that iCloud integrates tighter with IOS due to device backups is irrelevant.

The facts are as follows:
At present, Dropbox has tighter integration with storing user data than iCloud.
This is due to iCloud Drive NOT being an option under the iOS share sheet while Dropbox is.
This cripples the users ability to save things to iCloud drive from within apps or safari.

EDIT: I will clarify that obviously apps that create an iCloud document folder can save data. But generally they don't allow you to freely browse to a directory of your choosing.

With iCloud Drive you can't:
-Airdrop a file and choose to save it to your iCloud Drive. (with dropbox you can)
-Save/export a photo from the photos app and save it to iCloud Drive (with dropbox you can).
-Save anything from apps to iCloud Drive as it's missing from the Share Sheet (With dropbox you can)

Are you getting the point? iCloud drive does not come close to Dropbox on iOS or OSX.
This is highly frustrating as i expect iCloud drive to work better than 3rd party storage solutions.

Apple really need to fix this during the iOS 10 beta.
 

matjamca

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 2, 2013
271
286
St Helens, Merseyside, England
Just because you can't backup a device image to dropbox doesn't mean that iCloud's integration is tighter. Because it certainly is not.

I'd say that dropbox is for your documents, pics, project data etc, aka a cloud file system...not a backup target for your device. So imo saying that iCloud integrates tighter with IOS due to device backups is irrelevant.

The facts are as follows:
At present, Dropbox has tighter integration with storing user data than iCloud.
This is due to iCloud Drive NOT being an option under the iOS share sheet while Dropbox is.
This cripples the users ability to save things to iCloud drive from within apps or safari.

EDIT: I will clarify that obviously apps that create an iCloud document folder can save data. But generally they don't allow you to freely browse to a directory of your choosing.

With iCloud Drive you can't:
-Airdrop a file and choose to save it to your iCloud Drive. (with dropbox you can)
-Save/export a photo from the photos app and save it to iCloud Drive (with dropbox you can).
-Save anything from apps to iCloud Drive as it's missing from the Share Sheet (With dropbox you can)

Are you getting the point? iCloud drive does not come close to Dropbox on iOS or OSX.
This is highly frustrating as i expect iCloud drive to work better than 3rd party storage solutions.

Apple really need to fix this during the iOS 10 beta.

We should get a protest going :D
 
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jarodlee88

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2016
40
14
Just because you can't backup a device image to dropbox doesn't mean that iCloud's integration is tighter. Because it certainly is not.

I'd say that dropbox is for your documents, pics, project data etc, aka a cloud file system...not a backup target for your device. So imo saying that iCloud integrates tighter with IOS due to device backups is irrelevant.

The facts are as follows:
At present, Dropbox has tighter integration with storing user data than iCloud.
This is due to iCloud Drive NOT being an option under the iOS share sheet while Dropbox is.
This cripples the users ability to save things to iCloud drive from within apps or safari.

EDIT: I will clarify that obviously apps that create an iCloud document folder can save data. But generally they don't allow you to freely browse to a directory of your choosing.

With iCloud Drive you can't:
-Airdrop a file and choose to save it to your iCloud Drive. (with dropbox you can)
-Save/export a photo from the photos app and save it to iCloud Drive (with dropbox you can).
-Save anything from apps to iCloud Drive as it's missing from the Share Sheet (With dropbox you can)

Are you getting the point? iCloud drive does not come close to Dropbox on iOS or OSX.
This is highly frustrating as i expect iCloud drive to work better than 3rd party storage solutions.

Apple really need to fix this during the iOS 10 beta.
I honestly agree with you.
Just because you can't backup a device image to dropbox doesn't mean that iCloud's integration is tighter. Because it certainly is not.

I'd say that dropbox is for your documents, pics, project data etc, aka a cloud file system...not a backup target for your device. So imo saying that iCloud integrates tighter with IOS due to device backups is irrelevant.

The facts are as follows:
At present, Dropbox has tighter integration with storing user data than iCloud.
This is due to iCloud Drive NOT being an option under the iOS share sheet while Dropbox is.
This cripples the users ability to save things to iCloud drive from within apps or safari.

EDIT: I will clarify that obviously apps that create an iCloud document folder can save data. But generally they don't allow you to freely browse to a directory of your choosing.

With iCloud Drive you can't:
-Airdrop a file and choose to save it to your iCloud Drive. (with dropbox you can)
-Save/export a photo from the photos app and save it to iCloud Drive (with dropbox you can).
-Save anything from apps to iCloud Drive as it's missing from the Share Sheet (With dropbox you can)

Are you getting the point? iCloud drive does not come close to Dropbox on iOS or OSX.
This is highly frustrating as i expect iCloud drive to work better than 3rd party storage solutions.

Apple really need to fix this during the iOS 10 beta.
i honestly agree with you on this one. Apple really has the potential to make a really good cloud storage and I really hope that they add better features equal to Dropbox, Google drive and OneDrive. Maybe in iOS 10 but I doubt. Apple isn't really focused on the cloud at the moment. They are more focused on making sure people still wants to use iOS so that their sales won't dip that much. Maybe in the near future, iOS 11? Ahaha thanks for being informative on Dropbox anyways. Maybe I'll try using it now.
 
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boston04and07

macrumors 68000
May 13, 2008
1,834
934
I'm really curious about how Optimize Storage works with Time Machine. It seems like the files in the cloud live alongside files still stored locally with no user input as to what is where - so, does the computer quickly re-download these files when Time Machine runs, do they not get backed up at all, or does something else happen? I can say I would not be happy if I had to restore from a backup only to find a bunch of my files not there. I guess they'd in theory redownload from the cloud to where they were, which I suppose could make sense if they're files that haven been modified in a while anyway. I'm just thinking out loud here...I'm very interested to see how this is all handled.

Somewhat related, I do wish Apple would give us the option of using our iCloud storage space as another Time Machine target. It'd be nice to have that as a second or third backup for backup-happy people like me. :rolleyes:
 
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