How iCloud works - simply explained

All Apple users should be interested in how iCloud works. We'll explain a bit more about what the data cloud is all about. Some terms related to iCloud mostly blur a little.

How does iCloud work? the Apple data cloud explains

• The iCloud was introduced by Apple in 2011. The iCloud is actually a huge server farm, on which Apple stores all data centrally and can therefore be accessed from your own Apple device - whether iPhone, iPad or Mac.
• You can imagine the iCloud as a virtual hard disk, 5 GB are available free of charge. However, you cannot save on this hard drive indiscriminately, only the data that Apple unlocks for you and then only via the corresponding app.
• These unlocked options include, for example, your purchased apps, the calendar, the notes or the contacts. For example, you can store your contacts in iCloud and then access them with another Apple device using the "Contacts" app.
• Your data is not unsorted in the iCloud. There is a fixed folder structure. The folders are called "contacts", there are all your contacts. Your backups are stored in the "backups" folder.
• If you have registered several Apple devices in iCloud with the same Apple ID, they will be synchronized automatically. When you add a contact to your iPhone, it is automatically added to the contacts on the iPad.
• iCloud backs up all information from your Apple devices. You almost always have an up-to-date backup with which you can easily set up a new device or restore another one. It is backed up daily, automatically and via WLAN. The device only needs to be switched on, locked and connected to a power source.
• You can also store photos or documents in the iCloud, but there are separate additional services for this. The best tips for setting up iCloud can be found in another practical tip.

iCloud and its services

There are other services that are independent, but are part of the iCloud.

• iCloud Drive is one such service. It enables you to store and manage documents in iCloud.
• The iCloud Photo Library has room for your photos and videos. We will show you in another practical tip how the photo stream works in iCloud.

In the next practical tip, we will stay with questions about Apple and iPhone and show you how iMessage works.