First Look Video of iCloud.com Beta

happyicloudApple launched its iCloud.com beta tonight. The beta is intended for developers to test their iCloud syncing functionality, though there has been some confusion about who exactly had access. Early on, it seemed that Apple inadvertently allowed access to more than just developers, but we now hear that Apple has started shutting out these non-developer users.

iCloud is Apple's upcoming syncing and storage service for both iOS 5 and OS X Lion. iCloud (the service) stores your music, photos, apps, calendars, documents and keeps it in sync across multiple devices. iCloud.com (the website) represents Apple's MobileMe website replacement that gives users online access to their Calendar, Email, Address Book, Find My Phone and iWork data. The entire interface borrows heavily from iOS and Lion and incorporates many nice graphical flourishes and animations.

This quick walkthrough video by helpfulmactips2010 shows the different pieces in place:


Apple has also revealed the pricing for additional iCloud storage. iCloud comes with 5GB of free storage, and the additional pricing is as follows:

• 10GB Additional, $20/year
• 20GB Additional, $40/year
• 50GB Additional, $100/year

Apple has said that purchased music, apps, and books, as well as Photo Stream, don’t count against your free 5GB storage.

Much more about iCloud should be revealed as the launch nears. Apple has promised that iCloud will launch this fall alongside iOS 5. OS X Lion will also need an update to fully support iCloud.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
walmart new ornametns

Walmart Black Friday Deals Begin Today With Low Prices on Headphones, TVs, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 7:55 am PST by
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...

Top Rated Comments

viperGTS Avatar
187 months ago


I'm finding it hard to care, I'm not paying apples prices for music. Amazon and the used record stores have helped me accumulate my 110 gb's of music. My iPod video does a very good job of playing that music. Call me old school but I dont feel like paying at least 100 bucks a year to store my music hat I already own and have stored in three places.
Ok, first of all:
It costs $25 a year, not $100, to store your music in iCloud. Stop being so ignorant.
Secondly, if you have 3 places to put your music, then that's all good. iTunes Match isn't for you. Its meant to make your music iCloud compatible. If you don't find the service to fufill your needs, don't complain about it. No one said you had to get it. :rolleyes:
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nuckinfutz Avatar
187 months ago
Gotta love how so many are willing to jump on the "convienence" of paying apple to rent 100 gigs of space when 2TB can be had for that price, forever minus the convienence.
Huh? iCloud is a sync tool that leverages storage. We all know we can buy local storage cheaper but that's not going to keep our data in sync now.

I think people are getting confused. iCloud's focus is on sync and using cloud storage to cache metadata and handle conflicts. It's not there to put up your entire music library or porn collection.


This would have been great a couple of years ago. Today I use gMail, Google Calendar+Contacts, and Spotify.
Which is essentially saying I use crappy web apps because they are free.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cinch Avatar
187 months ago
Only with OSX Lion

If iCloud works only with OSX Lion, then I'll stick with Dropbox for now. Wirelessly syncing photos and music at night while my phone is charging is enough for me.

Still using my MacBook 1st generation (Core Duo) for 5+ years, and running Snow Leopard just fine!:D
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wayfarer Avatar
187 months ago
Oh glorious day.

Happy mac is BACK!



Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
monaarts Avatar
187 months ago
I think music match for $25/year will prove to be a dud. With wireless syncing, do you really need music match? I think with the 5GB free iCloud service, Apple will give Dropbox, Google and others some competition. I think the vast majority of us will take advantage of this free service and only a small percentage of us will pay for the service, and with competitions heating up, you never know what service will be free in the future, especially when Google is involved!

I am planning on paying the $25/yr for 3 reasons. #1, it is more clean with all the correct information and cover art for all the music. #2, it is an upgraded sound for most of my library. #3, if I ever happen to lose all of my music from my mac I can just legally download it all from iTunes again! (HUUUGE plus in my opinion!)


- Joe
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DavidLeblond Avatar
187 months ago
WOW, revolutionary!

It looks just like MobilMe with out the things I liked best, Photo Gallery, and Idisk!

If people didn't like MM why in the hell would they go for this, probably because they will be forced to.

Kind of sucks, Apple giveth and Apple taketh away.

Uh because it's free?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)