Apple Working to Boost iCloud Integration with Preview and TextEdit Document Viewer Apps for iOS 8

icloud_iconApple may be expanding iCloud in iOS 8 by releasing iOS versions of Preview and TextEdit that use iCloud for document retrieval and storage. It also is developing tools that will make it easier for developers to create iCloud-based applications. These improvements are expected to arrive later this year, reports 9to5Mac.

Apple is developing versions of the Mac operating system’s Preview and TextEdit applications that are optimized for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The applications are said to not be designed to actually edit PDFs, images, or text documents. Instead, the apps are built to serve as tools to view Preview and TextEdit files stored in iCloud by OS X. Apple added iCloud synchronization for Preview and TextEdit with OS X Mountain Lion, but has not yet released iOS counterparts to actually view the synchronized content.

These new Preview and TextEdit apps will be document viewers only and won't include editing functionality. iPhone and iPad owners will be encouraged to use iWork applications to edit common document types and iBooks to manipulate PDFs.

These changes reflect a new development strategy championed by Apple Senior VP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi. Instead of two separate teams with one focusing on iOS and the other dedicated to OS X, Federighi has merged the teams so the same group of developers work on both the iOS and OS X versions.

Apple also is exploring ways to make iCloud app development easier for developers. Details are sparse, but Apple may provide new iCloud storage tools that allow developers to use iCloud as a file system for sharing data across iOS and OS X platforms.

Related Forum: iOS 8

Popular Stories

iOS 26 on iPhone Feature

Here's When iOS 26 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: Out Now!]

Monday September 15, 2025 12:00 am PDT by
Update 10:06 a.m.: iOS 26 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Today's the day! Apple is about to release iOS 26, which will deliver the biggest redesign since iOS 7 and bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at last week's iPhone event that...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Reportedly Plans to Launch These 10 Products in 'Coming Months'

Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19. As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

Apple Says Installing iOS 26 Might Impact Battery Life

Monday September 15, 2025 10:56 am PDT by
In the iOS 26 release notes, Apple is warning iPhone users that installing the new software might have a temporary impact on battery life, which is normal. A new support document explains that major iOS updates require background setup like indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps. Further, Apple says that new features could require more resources,...
iphone 17 lineup

iPhone 17 Models Launch on September 19 With These New Features

Friday September 12, 2025 7:58 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 lineup and ultra-thin iPhone Air in stores on Friday, September 19, and the company has already shown off the new devices at its fall event, which ran with the the tagline "Awe dropping." The iPhone 17 series brings a host of new features and enhancements. Here's a rundown of the biggest upgrades and changes: iPhone 17 Display Changes The iPhone...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 Get iOS 26 Features With New Firmware Update

Monday September 15, 2025 10:50 am PDT by
Apple today released updated firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4, introducing support for the new AirPods features that are included in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe. The firmware has a build number of 8A356, and it replaces the current 7E93 firmware. With Apple's new software updates, the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 support better audio quality for phone calls and...
apple n1 chip

Apple's New N1 Chip in iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Has a Wi-Fi 7 Limitation

Saturday September 13, 2025 10:01 am PDT by
The latest iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air models are equipped with Apple's all-new N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity. However, the chip has a Wi-Fi 7 bandwidth limitation. According to FCC documents reviewed by MacRumors, the N1 chip in all of the new iPhone models supports up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7, short of the...
iPhone 17 Pro Air Boxes

iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Boxes Revealed

Sunday September 14, 2025 1:36 pm PDT by
T-Mobile President Jon Freier today shared real-world photos of Apple's boxes for the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 models, which launch on Friday. Image Credit: Jon Freier Apple has typically included iPhone box renders in its product environmental reports, but it did not do so for the latest models. However, Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program page does offer some images of the boxes, ...

Top Rated Comments

The Phazer Avatar
150 months ago
Seriously, just shoot whatever idiot thought Textedit that can't edit would be an acceptable thing to ship.

I mean, seriously.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
redscull Avatar
150 months ago
An app is supposed to do one job really well. iBooks is a reader. Giving it PDF editing functionality makes it an application. You know, those large, confusing programs that Apple fixed when they invented iOS. You're not supposed to have to deal with menu navigation and feature overload in an app.. I wish someone there still remembered that.

Also, sharing files between iOS and OSX via iCloud? How about just make AirDrop work? It's ridiculous that I have to use DropBox just to share a file between two devices sitting on the same desk. The data travels thousands of miles to go 1 foot. But Apple's solution is to send my data thousands of miles to their servers instead of someone else's.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
150 months ago
I sincerely hate how iCloud file saving has been handled on the Mac so far. It defaults all of the standard applications' saving locations to iCloud, and then I have to drop the full dialog down with the arrow to search for the location I actually want (admittedly, it sometimes shows up in the recents just under the iCloud option).

On a semi-related note, the dialog the pops up when you first launch Textedit sucks! It increases the amount of time the application takes to open, and it adds steps between launching the app from spotlight and entering text. I've switched to Sublime but will be looking for fixes.

</rant></firstworldproblems>

EDIT: If anybody else hates this, read this reply to my post! (https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=18878320)
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
William Gates Avatar
150 months ago
Hope to see a big bump in free storage space and the inclusion of home videos into photo stream to go along with this

No joke. 5 free GB of storage for 2 macs, an iPhone, and an iPad is not conducive to a good user experience. I bought 10 extra GB, but I'm pushing the limits on that storage space. And the absolute most you can get is 55 GB? Is this 2005? Where is my unlimited option?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scrod Avatar
150 months ago
Client-side encryption?

Until iCloud uses client-side encryption with client-side keys, I'm not touching it with a ten-foot pole. They can add all the features an integration they want, but it's worthless to me until I have control over my own data.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
William Gates Avatar
150 months ago
Finally


iBooks to manipulate PDFs
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Why would you do this. PDF management in iBooks is horrible. Unless it's a PDF of a book I don't want it in iBooks.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)