iCloud will launch on October 12th, alongside iOS 5, Apple has announced. The cloud service saves and syncs content between all compatible devices, which includes anything running iOS 5 or OS X Lion. Content types primarily consist of apps, music and books from iTunes, but also the likes of mail, contacts, calendars, photos, and documents. Apple notes that backups will occur daily, and that a basic 5GB iCloud account will (as previously stated) be free.
Due by the end of October is iTunes Match, Apple’s answer to services like Google Music and Amazon Cloud Player. This allows remote streaming of a user’s music library at a cost of $25 a year; a person’s local library is scanned, and only those tracks not already available on the iTunes Store are uploaded. Matched tracks are upgraded to 256Kbps AAC files.
Apple warns that iTunes Match will initially be US-only, although the company is “working hard” to bring the service to other countries.
