Apple's iCloud and iTunes Match Are Top Cloud Media Services in U.S.

According to a report from Strategy Analytics (via Engadget) Apple's iCloud and iTunes Match are the most frequently used cloud media services, with a combined usage total of 27%.

To get its numbers, Strategy Analytics asked 2,300 Americans the following question: “Have you ever used any of the following online digital locker services which enabled you to store music, video (including TV shows and movies) or games online (”in the cloud“ and stream them to an Internet connected device?”

cloudservices
Dropbox came in second at 17% and Amazon's Cloud Drive came in third with 15%. Google Drive came in fourth, with Ultraviolet, Samsung Music Hub, Online, LG Cloud, and Galkai following behind.

The survey revealed that the majority of people (at 55%) had never used a cloud media service at all, and as Strategy Analytics points out, Dropbox, with its second place ranking, is the only service without an associated content ecosystem. Music is a major factor in cloud usage with 90% of Apple, Amazon, and Google cloud users storing music. 45% of Dropbox users use the service to store music.

“Music is currently the key battleground in the war for cloud domination. Google is tempting users by giving away free storage for 20,000 songs which can be streamed to any Android device, a feature both Amazon and Apple charge annual subscriptions for,” observes Ed Barton, Strategy Analytics' Director of Digital Media.

Usage of cloud storage is skewed heavily towards younger people, being especially popular among 20–24 year olds. iCloud and iTunes Match were the only services with more female than male users, and Google Drive skewed towards a male subscription base.

Popular Stories

ios 19 messages app

Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks

Thursday July 17, 2025 8:40 pm PDT by
Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June. In his first video back in January, Prosser showed off a Camera app redesign with a simpler set of buttons for moving between photo and video modes, and he...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

Ranked: The Best Features Rumored for the iPhone 17 Lineup

Wednesday July 16, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
We have just under two months to go until the debut of Apple's iPhone 17 models, and rumors have been ramping up in recent weeks. We went through everything we know so far, pulling out the most exciting rumors and highlighting some other changes that aren't going to be so great. Top Tier Ultra Thin iPhone 17 Air - The iPhone 17 Air is 2025's most exciting iPhone rumor, because it's the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone's Thickness and Price Range Detailed in New Reports

Wednesday July 16, 2025 11:31 am PDT by
Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone will likely have a starting price between $1,800 and $2,000 in the U.S., analysts at investment banking firm UBS said this week. If so, the foldable iPhone would cost more than a MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,599. With a starting price of at least $1,800, the foldable iPhone would be the most expensive iPhone model ever released, topping the Pro Max at...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
Apple Hornsby

Apple Store Near Sydney Permanently Closing Later This Year

Monday July 14, 2025 6:14 pm PDT by
Apple today said its store at the Westfield Hornsby shopping mall, in Hornsby, Australia, will be permanently closing in October. Apple Hornsby In a statement shared with Australian tech news website EFTM (via Reddit), Apple said that it has decided not to renew its lease at Westfield Hornsby. Apple said all affected retail employees will be given the opportunity to work at Apple's nearby...

Top Rated Comments

uknowimright Avatar
161 months ago
are they even aware they are using it?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blacktape242 Avatar
161 months ago
I'm a fan of itunes match although it does still need some fine tuning. :cool:
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
paulsalter Avatar
161 months ago
Some strange options in their

They combine iTunes Match and iCloud but then just look at Google Drive, where is the Google Music Match

Of course if you ask people if they store music on google drive not a great amount will say yes, ask them about google music and you might get a different answer

great way of leading questions to get the answer you want to see
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoeIsInTheCloud Avatar
161 months ago
It's important to qualify this study looked exclusively at services used as "digital lockers" for media files. I would like to see metrics from users of cloud services for documents and business materials. I suspect iCloud wouldn't even make the list.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ted13 Avatar
161 months ago
So ironic -- the disconnect between what gets reported in the press and reality is so stark: Apple is more successful than Google as a Cloud company, Apple is more successful than Amazon as an eTailer, etc.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KylePowers Avatar
161 months ago
This is dumb, because it's inherently part of the ecosystem. I don't even know if you have to manually enable iCloud when purchasing an iDevice, but I can assure you if it provides the option, most consumers blindly press yes.

I have 2 Macs and 2 iDevices and I have never used iCloud for anything actually useful (aside from Photostream, which doesn't even sync videos).

Dropbox all day, errr'day - 25GB gets me a long way in syncing files between my Macs and accessing files from my iDevices (and any computer with an internet connection).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)