backup in iCloud or iTunes?

[davidra]

It was edited after I posted.



I have an iPad 2 and iPhone 4S backing up to iCloud and I haven't even used 500 MBs. Still have 4.5 GBs free.



That's what I said in my original post.

Don't get this. I have my iPad 2 and 4S both backed up to iCloud and I am using a total of over 4 GB.....3 GB for the iPad and 1 for the 4S. Why would there be that much difference? Both of mine are 16 GB, with 9 GB available on the iPhone and 7.7 GB available on the Ipad.

 

[urkel]

I have problems with backing up to both sides so I'm still undecided which will be my primary.

Backup to iTunes
+ Local backup means MUCH faster restoration
- Does backup at every sync and it has always been a ridiculously slow process
- Tons of HDD space. I have an Air as a primary and when I was hunting down why I lost all my storage I discovered the backups of our 4 iOS devices + a bunch of phantom backups took over 30GB.

Backup to iCloud
+ Auto backup. If you have WiFi on it does it overnight in the background
+ Easy access from any computer
- 5GB iCloud space is a bit skimpy so as we move more services to iCloud that space may be more valuable for data than backups
- Manual Intervention. IF your storage is filling then you need to manually start unchecking items NOT to get backed up.
- Depending on your bandwidth speeds, data restoration is slow and if you're in panic mode trying to get your phone working then downloading a 5GB restoration is a nightmare


For me, I'm manually managing my 2 devices on my iCloud account and my wife is doing the same. But as a safety net then I also have a local restoration just in case. With so many iCloud services going through some rough spots then I just dont trust it yet.

 

[Thetonyk123]

I like doing it the old way, connecting to itunes via usb cable.

 

[heyloo]

iCloud wins it for me. I do see the obvious advantages of iTunes backups, such as much faster restore, but with decent broadband connection I found iCloud restore/backup not too bad. Besides, I don't ever have to worry about remembering to plug my iPhone into the computer every now and then. I suppose iTunes Wi-Fi sync could work but still...I like iCloud.

At the end of the day, I think it all comes down to personal preference when it comes to deciding between iCloud and iTunes.