Apple has released a new support document which states that the company’s iCloud Documents and Data service will merge going forward into one single entity i.e iCloud Drive. From May 2020, the iCloud Drive will be the only service to exist whereas the iCloud Documents and Data service will cease to exist.
The process of using iCloud Documents and Data is a slightly complicated task. However, on the other hand, using iCloud Drive is far easier. The working of iCloud Drive, iCloud Documents, and Data is almost the same as they all do the same thing – backup data from apps.
iCloud Drive to unify different services
Apple launched iCloud Drive in 2014, in a move to unify all of its services. It allowed users to sync their documents, files, and other supported things to be synced across all their devices with iCloud. To enable iCloud Drive, users can do so from their Mac, iPhone, or iPad. On the iPhone or iPad, users can go to Settings – > iCloud and toggle on the switch for ‘iCloud Drive’. On the Mac, users can head to System Preferences – > Apple ID -> iCloud and toggle on the option ‘iCloud Drive’.
In May 2022, the iCloud Documents and Data service, our former document synchronization service, will be interrupted and completely replaced by iCloud Drive. Therefore, if you use iCloud Documents and Data, your account will be migrated to iCloud Drive after that date.
If you use the iCloud Documents and Data service, you must activate iCloud Drive by following the steps below to view your files. Upgrading to iCloud Drive does not change the storage space used by your files saved in iCloud.
If your standard iCloud storage is full, you can opt for extra storage by paying a premium. Last year, Apple also released its ‘Apple One’ plan which is a combination of all of the services offered by the company along with extra iCloud storage (differs from plan to plan).
