How does the iCloud work?

[doobybiggs]

New to iPhones with the 6. I am curious how the iCloud works with it though.

My main question is if I have 1gb of pictures. They get backed up on the cloud too right? So in essence I am using 2gb for 1gb of photos? Or what?

I am debating on getting 20gb of iCloud space for $1 a month but not sure how that would work with 16gb model?

Thanks!

 

[samiznaetekto]

You're asking questions, but you're not supposed to. In Apple world, you're supposed to not ask questions about how iCloud works. "It just works!" doesn't like curious, smart users. likes dumb users.

Except it doesn't work. I lost many photos because it doesn't. This stupid thing with unchecking iCloud for photos and it tells you it will delete all your photos from this iphone? WTF? Why can't it leave my photos alone?

Anyway, I'm now completely iCloud-free. I take pics with my phone, download them to computer and back them up myself. I can still have some of photos on the phone, but why have them all? And if I erase them from the phone, I still have them in my backup.

 

[iososx]

iCloud is a bit of a gamble. Sometimes it's fine, other times its not. Apple has a rather erratic reputation with cloud services. I'm hoping that someday soon they get a grip on how it works and how to make iCloud reliable and improve its image and usefulness.

 

[doobybiggs]

Ya it annoys me I can only back up what apple wants me to back up. And I can not manually back anything up on it that I want.

I may go the backup to computer myself route and control it myself since apple is vague and is not very clear on the cloud.

 

[Starfia]

Here's Steve's original introduction to iCloud. In essence, iCloud is a service for storing your files online – independent of your devices – and tries to keep them current on all your devices as you manage and change them.

By default, every user is entitled for 5GB of iCloud storage for free, which is more than enough to manage a whole lot of documents and back up their mobile devices' app data.

iCloud Photo Library is the feature that enables you to store your entire photo library using your iCloud storage. That one is turned off by default, since photo libraries – with thousands of shots, plus HD videos and all – can vary greatly in size.

It sounds like you don't think you have control over what's stored in iCloud. That's generally not true. You can switch iCloud Photo Library on or off, or you can sign out of iCloud entirely. In Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud, you can choose which built-in apps use iCloud, as well as whether your device is backed up. For individual apps from the App Store, you can usually opt in or out.