If you own an iPhone^®, iPad^®, or MacBook^®, you know the wealth of options and applications these gadgets offer. However, of all the bells and whistles found in your favorite Apple^® product, the iCloud^® has to be one of the most misunderstood. In the tech world, the concept of “the cloud” is relatively new, but by learning the basics, you can take advantage of everything this service has to offer. Here’s what you need to know about using iCloud on your device.

What Is the iCloud?

The iCloud is essentially a storage solution that’s housed in “the cloud,” a virtual plane of existence for everything from photos and movies to work documents. While it operates much more like the internet than a tangible file cabinet, the iCloud is actually backed up on servers owned by Apple. You can save videos, music, and PDF files to your personal iCloud account and then re-download them whenever you want access—whether you’re on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple computer. The main benefit of this virtual storage plan is that you can free up space on your Apple products while still retaining ownership and easy access to your files.

How Do You Use It?

The iCloud offers users multiple plans, so you can choose the basic storage limit for free or pay more for extra GBs of storage. To select a plan, you’ll have to use the Apple ID account that’s connected to your device and choose the data you want to send to the cloud. For example, let’s say you have thousands of photos on your iPhone and you’re running out of room to take more. You can sync the photos and videos to the iCloud Photo Library and then access them on all of your devices. 

If you want to share images with friends and family members who have their own iCloud accounts, you can use iCloud Photo Sharing to build albums and invite others to add to or comment on individual images. If you have small children, the Family Sharing iCloud plan is an excellent way to keep tabs on their activity. In addition to paying for one plan for the whole family, you can track your children’s location and set up the “Ask to Buy” feature, which requires your permission for anyone to buy items on iTunes^® and the App Store^®.

If you have further questions on how to make the most of the iCloud, turn to Experimax Bend in Deschutes County, OR. In addition to selling certified pre-owned Apple products, this one-stop shop offers fast repair services for iPhone devices, iPad tablets, and MacBook laptops, whether you broke a screen or lost Bluetooth^® capabilities. To learn more about their services, visit their website or call (541) 797-6863.