Apple’s iCloud Drive is primarily designed for Apple devices, though it also works on Windows. Apple recommends using the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Note that some iCloud features, such as Folder Sharing and iCloud Photos, won’t work on older operating systems. In addition, iCloud Drive lacks optical character recognition (OCR), but that tech is typically aimed toward business-focused cloud storage apps.
iCloud Drive’s web version works with most browsers, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. There’s no dedicated app for Android or Linux.
If you own an Apple device, you probably have an iCloud account. One of the first things these devices do during the setup process is ask you to either log in to your Apple ID or create an account, which is required to use the App Store. You can check whether you have one in your device’s System Settings.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
On Apple hardware, iCloud is built into the operating system. Many Apple apps that sync data use iCloud by default, such as Contacts, Messages, and Reminders. iCloud also gives you an iCloud Drive folder, which you can find using Finder on Macs and the Files app on mobile devices. In it are folders for every app you’ve synced using iCloud. You can manually add files and folders as needed.
Files I added to the iCloud Drive folder were available on my other devices. By default, folders and files don’t automatically download when they sync to other locations, so they aren’t available offline (you must enable downloads to access them). Downloading files and folders is a breeze. On the Mac, just click the download icon to the right of the file or folder name; on mobile devices, tap and hold a file or folder, then tap Download Now. In testing, the changes I made to those local copies were uploaded and synced when I later connected my device to the internet.
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This is similar to how Microsoft’s OneDrive works; syncing only happens if requested. IDrive, by contrast, syncs everything by default. Which approach works best for you is a matter of preference, but either way, it’s easy enough to configure your settings to work the way you want. Mac users can optionally automatically sync the entire Documents and Desktop folders to iCloud. If you do, your Documents folder syncs across Macs and is accessible from other devices.
