Apple is famous for being uptight and a bully who wants to cordon its consumers away from the competitors’ platforms. The Cupertino company simply doesn’t know how to play nice with the competition, and I might go as far as to say, to Apple, synergy is not something they are after.
That said, it is very surprising that when I recently visited the Microsoft Store, I found iCloud app by Apple. Though to be fair, iTunes has been available therein much longer now, and even before the advent of Microsoft Store. Apple has a version of iTunes and iCloud available for users on Windows PCs.
Could Apple be finally becoming cross-platform-friendly?
Historically, Apple has been walling off its consumers, but with the availability of AirPlay on TVs, Apple Music on Android, and now an updated iCloud on Microsoft Store. It appears Apple might be warming up to the idea of cross-platform-friendly.
iCloud on Windows
Though iClout and iTunes have been available for years now, you don’t get the same level of utility you do when using it on a Mac computer compared with Windows PC. Especially, the iCloud; with iTunes, you will be missing a whole lot less feature you get on a Mac than you don’t have on Windows.
Perhaps the biggest change with the revamped iCloud for Windows is the smarter sync process, enabling you to keep your files in the cloud without saving them locally on the PC. Yet, still having easy access to them. The new iCloud is also more tightly integrated into the Windows 10 File Explorer system.
You now get iCloud app notifications in the notification area. Giving you quick links to downloading photos, documents, and other files (based on the time they were created). You can also upload photos, documents and other files to the iCloud right from your Windows PC as well.
In the iCloud settings panel, you get the option of arranging syncs to your PC in four areas; iCloud Drive, email (contacts and calendars via Outlook), photos, and bookmarks.
How well does it work?
To be honest, not that well. The iCloud for Windows app is still in its rudimentary stages and sometimes can be a pain in the foot by being slow. You are better off with the alternative like OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox until such a time Apple iron out the kinks.