6 Ways Apple Will Fix iCloud In iOS 8

Apple's cloud storage service has its fair share of issues. Luckily, iCloud is about to get some major improvements within the next month.

Thanks to iOS 8, Apple's forthcoming software update for mobile devices like iPhones and iPads, iCloud will finally receive some important updates that have been sorely missing from the service since it was introduced in October 2011.

iCloud is one of Apple's most important services, as it is designed to help all of the company's devices communicate and work together. So we have outlined all of the various problems and highlighted the ways in which the iCloud update in iOS 8 will resolve those issues.

iOS 8 may not suddenly turn iCloud into the best cloud service, but it ought to ameliorate some of the bigger issues consumers have faced over the years.

Problem: Syncing issues can result in data loss and file corruption.

Solution: Photos and documents will soon show you when they last synced with iCloud, and Handoff in iOS 8 will let you pick up from where you left off on other devices — even if you’re not in Wi-Fi range, because other devices will be able to leverage the iPhone’s Instant Hotspot. Handoff works with Apple’s first-party apps, but developers will be able to build it into their apps as well.

Problem: iCloud Photo Stream holds onto your photos for only 30 days — so you’ll often keep photos on your local device and run out of space.

Solution: With iCloud Photo Library coming in iOS 8, the 30-day rule will be gone: You’ll soon be able to keep all of your photos in iCloud and download them anytime to any of your devices, or even access them on the web. The first 5GB of space will be free, and other storage plans will start at $0.99 a month.

Problem: iCloud doesn't do enough to help free up space on local devices.

Solution: A new option in iCloud Photo Settings allows you to store your full-resolution photos in iCloud while keeping device-optimized versions on your iPhone, which ought to save some room because photos can take up a ton of space. How much storage you'll save with this new system, however, has yet to be determined.