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is iCloud useful as a storage extension?

S

shenfrey

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Original poster
May 23, 2010
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Fully equipped with a lot of storage on my 16" MBP however, I wanted to know if iCloud Drive has any advantages over buying additional storage through external hard drives.

Assuming a fast connection, can I use iCloud Drive as an additional storage folder and have it work seamlessly with my MacBook, or is it clunky and complicated? Furthermore, does it hold all data on 'the cloud' or is some of it also saved locally on device?

I haven't got an iCloud plan as of yet so looking to purchase assuming it's fit for purpose.

Thanks guys
 
That's what I have been doing with my 256GB Macbook, as I have the 2TB iCloud Drive subscription. I have found iCloud Drive to be very intelligent with removing files not used, and I have never had issues with downloading anything needed when required. I currently use little more than 1TB of that space. In fact, I don't plan on throwing more money at Apple for an SSD upgrade when I order an M2 MBA, simply because it has been such a good experience, and their prices are so extreme.

I also have 2 iMacs, 1 Mac mini, and iPhone/iPad, and no problems on those either.
 
Yes, it's it is a good addition.
But keep in mind that you won't access your files if problems with the network occur.
 
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I find it helpful in accessing files via an iPad or iPhone. Having your desktop and documents folders permanently syncing/living in iCloud makes transitioning between machines fairly seamless. Sometimes I work on an iMac and it helps for this as well.

I have only run into an issue once when I finished a fillable PDF on a laptop, opened it on an iPad to sign my name, and it corrupted/synced incorrectly. I lost the work on the PDF (about an hour of writing). Everything else has worked well.
 
Thanks guys sounds like a good way to go. Can I store all file types on the drive or are there limitations?
 
T'hain Esh Kelch said:
That's what I have been doing with my 256GB Macbook, as I have the 2TB iCloud Drive subscription. I have found iCloud Drive to be very intelligent with removing files not used, and I have never had issues with downloading anything needed when required. I currently use little more than 1TB of that space. In fact, I don't plan on throwing more money at Apple for an SSD upgrade when I order an M2 MBA, simply because it has been such a good experience, and their prices are so extreme.

I also have 2 iMacs, 1 Mac mini, and iPhone/iPad, and no problems on those either.
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Agreed. I am doing the exact same thing, although I did opt in for higher storage due to picture library and home videos. I'd rather keep local copies.
 
shenfrey said:
Thanks guys sounds like a good way to go. Can I store all file types on the drive or are there limitations?
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I'd imagine there's an upper limit to file size, but I've no idea what it is. My largest file is 6,2 Gb and syncing fine. File type is irrelevant.
 
For my next MacBook I've been considering using iCloud instead of buying 1tb, but then again 512 is frighteningly little. I figured that I won't need to create backups if things are in the cloud, as Apple will make backups and my stuff is fairly safe there. It beats having an external drive forever hanging on my MacBook, let alone two (one for backup, one for storage). Thoughts welcome.
 
If the data gets corrupted on your main drive, they will mirror the error to cloud, same with encrypting malware….Its not a backup, its meant to be for sharing data.
 
True, if you end up storing corrupted data in the cloud then there's nothing one can do. I would not use my main drive, just put everything in iCloud. If it gets corrupted there I am stuffed, true. But I hate having external drives hanging off my MacBook. hm.
 
apple fan23 said:
For my next MacBook I've been considering using iCloud instead of buying 1tb, but then again 512 is frighteningly little. I figured that I won't need to create backups if things are in the cloud, as Apple will make backups and my stuff is fairly safe there. It beats having an external drive forever hanging on my MacBook, let alone two (one for backup, one for storage). Thoughts welcome.
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Took this decision a few years ago. Apple charges way too much for machine storage whatever the device and it works out way cheaper and more convenient to have small drives and everything in the cloud for the whole family.
I stopped worrying about it as it's always worked perfectly.
If you save several versions of a file you can use the 'Revert to' function that you will find in the file menu when you open it. It works very much like Time machine does in fact (It works whether or not you store it in the cloud however)
so you still have some protection against a file being messed up and the convenience is huge.
 
Ruggy said:
Took this decision a few years ago. Apple charges way too much for machine storage whatever the device and it works out way cheaper and more convenient to have small drives and everything in the cloud for the whole family.
I stopped worrying about it as it's always worked perfectly.
If you save several versions of a file you can use the 'Revert to' function that you will find in the file menu when you open it. It works very much like Time machine does in fact (It works whether or not you store it in the cloud however)
so you still have some protection against a file being messed up and the convenience is huge.
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Can you elaborate more on this revert to function? I'm seriously curious. Is this a macOS specific? I hate local storage and having to back them up manually, so I've been relying on the cloud for quite sometime. But concerns of the only "copy" of the file being corrupted is surely a valid concern.
 
Yes, @Ruggy that's what I thought. Only trouble is now our photos is filling up our iCloud space so we need to offload some. I would also archive some older (work) folders onto external hard drives. Only got 60gb left out of 200gb. Am going to buy a new laptop and am considering moving it all to cloud (mostly text files so not taking up much space) but wondering if 512 is enough for (future) apps so might play it safe and pay the darn £200 extra for 1tb.
 
This is one of the best features of iCloud right now. Apple cloud storage offering got off to a rocky start but it's insanely good now. Remember this? "Why should I believe them? They're the ones that brought me MobileMe."


That said you can never have enough backups so whilst you have everything in the cloud it might be prudent to have local copies of important things on a local hard drive stored securely.
 
DHagan4755 said:
This is one of the best features of iCloud right now. Apple cloud storage offering got off to a rocky start but it's insanely good now. Remember this? "Why should I believe them? They're the ones that brought me MobileMe."


That said you can never have enough backups so whilst you have everything in the cloud it might be prudent to have local copies of important things on a local hard drive stored securely.
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Ideally, one should have multiple copies on at least 2 different mediums. My issue with local backup is that the large storage medium (hard drives) are highly unreliable, and keeping the backup up to date automatically is not simple for a mere mortal. I have went through so many failed hard drives that it's what made me went to the cloud. Hard Drive manufacturers don't seem to be interested in improving reliability either. And that's even before thinking about backing up the backup itself.

Apple's time capsule seems to be the ideal solution (wireless automatic backup), ignoring the hard drive unreliability, but still doesn't solve the backup of the backup.
 
iCloud is not a storage extension. iCloud is a synchronization service.

There is an important distinction. You cannot upload files to iCloud by any type of choice mechanism. You either sync all from your iCloud Drive folders, or you allow iCloud to chose which ones based on available drive space.

If you need additional online storage look elsewhere.

Likewise, iCloud is not a backup. It will sync any corruption, file changes, or deletes.
 
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planteater said:
iCloud is not a storage extension. iCloud is a synchronization service.

There is an important distinction. You cannot upload files to iCloud by any type of choice mechanism. You either sync all from your iCloud Drive folders, or you allow iCloud to chose which ones based on available drive space.

If you need additional online storage look elsewhere.

Likewise, iCloud is not a backup. It will sync any corruption, file changes, or deletes.
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Huh? You can upload any files to iCloud Drive just like Google Drive or OneDrive. You can do it through Finder on macOS, throigh iCloud.com, or the Files app on iOS.
 
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iCloud is a useful storage extension on macOS as it shows as a location on Finder. However, imo I don't think the full benefit of iCloud can be enjoyed outside Apple devices. It has limited usefulness on Windows, and zero on Android. So I would only opt for iCloud if one really lives inside Apple ecosystem. If one uses multiple platforms, services like Google Drive or OneDrive might be more practical.
 
ian87w said:
Huh? You can upload any files to iCloud Drive just like Google Drive or OneDrive. You can do it through Finder on macOS, throigh iCloud.com, or the Files app on iOS.
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Not selectively. It syncs Documents and Desktop. You can’t chose individual files or folders within them to sync. You can’t for instance choose a given folder to only reside in the cloud.
 
ian87w said:
iCloud is a useful storage extension on macOS as it shows as a location on Finder. However, imo I don't think the full benefit of iCloud can be enjoyed outside Apple devices. It has limited usefulness on Windows, and zero on Android. So I would only opt for iCloud if one really lives inside Apple ecosystem. If one uses multiple platforms, services like Google Drive or OneDrive might be more practical.
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I think where these iCloud storage threads get off track is the definition of additional or extension to storage.

iCloud is not similar to other online storage services due to it not having granular means to control which files are stored in the cloud and which ones stay on the local drive under all circumstances and by control of the location by choice of the user.

By enabling iCloud, it is simply moving local folders to /Users/<username>/Library/Mobile Documents. In that folder is the root of iCloud Drive, and also Documents and Desktop if that is chosen to by synced by the user. All files get copied/synced to Apples iCloud servers, and also remain on the local drive unless space runs low.

If the option is chosen, iCloud will chose to delete files off of the local drive when space runs low, allowing newer files to created thereby storing more than that of the local disk size. All this is transparent to the user and at the same time takes away control from the user on which files to always have present on the local system.

Many people want additional storage to what they have, and don't want their files removed off of the local system, as iCloud will do. iCloud is a sync service. Anyone that just wants to remotely store some folders, or store folders on a drive other than on the local system need to understand how iCloud works, because to a lot of people having a service manage where their files are located is terrifying, in that they lose control.
 
planteater said:
Not selectively. It syncs Documents and Desktop. You can’t chose individual files or folders within them to sync. You can’t for instance choose a given folder to only reside in the cloud.
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Yes you can. Simply drag n drop folders or files to the icloud Drive on Finder. iCloud Drive behaves just like Google Drive or OneDrive.
 
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ian87w said:
Yes you can. Simply drag n drop folders or files to the icloud Drive on Finder. iCloud Drive behaves just like Google Drive or OneDrive.
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No, please read documentation for iCloud drive, OneDrive and Google Drive. They are not similar.
 
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