iCloud Revamp May Introduce Social Features

The Apple iPhone 5 isn’t likely to put in an appearance at the 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), planned for 11 June. What Apple instead plans to show off is an update to iCloud, the Wall Street Journal reported on 14 May.

iCloud users can today store sets of images in the cloud, which can be synchronised to photos on various Apple devices. The next version of iCloud, reports the Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, will allow users to share sets of photos with other iCloud users, who will be able to comment on them – Apple with a touch of Facebook, it would seem.

Video sync

The report adds that Apple is additionally working on a feature that will allow users to sync videos via iCloud, as well as “Notes” and “Reminders” – two features that currently must be accessed by launching apps.

Apple introduced its free iCloud services at last year’s WWDC.

“Today it is a real hassle and very frustrating to keep all your information and content up-to-date across all your devices, iCloud keeps your important information and content up to date across all your devices. … and because it’s integrated into our apps you don’t even need to think about it – it all just works,” the late Steve Jobs said in a statement at the time, two months before resigning from his chief executive position due to illness.

Apple added in the 6 June, 2011 statement that it was ready to “ramp iCloud in its three data centres, including the third recently completed in Maiden, North Carolina”. In anticipation of high demand for iCloud, it added, it had invested more than $500 million (£311m) in the Maiden data centre.

Green data centre

This April, Greenpeace lumped Apple with Amazon and Microsoft in a report on cloud solutions, calling out the trio for powering their clouds with “dirty utilities”.

The accusation provoked a response from the usually tight-lipped Apple, which came to the defence of its operation in Maiden.

The “greening” of Apple – which lead to better environmental standards through the industry – was instigated by Jobs.

“Our data centre in North Carolina will draw about 20 megawatts at full capacity, and we are on track to supply more than 60 percent of that power on-site from renewable sources including a solar farm and fuel cell installation, which will each be the largest of their kind in the country,” Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokesperson told NPR in a statement. “We believe this industry-leading project will make Maiden the greenest data centre ever built, and it will be joined next year by our new facility in Oregon running on 100 percent renewable energy.”

Other rumours include hopes of an Apple TV, new MacBook Pros and the introduction of iOS 6.

Analysts with Piper Jaffray would also add new iMacs and iPods to that list.

“We believe that MacBook, iMac and potentially MacBook Air lines could all be refreshed during the June quarter, which we believe would result in a re-acceleration of Mac sales,” the wrote in a 14 May research note. “We note Apple blogs have speculated that MacBooks may be updated with a slimmer body style. Also, Intel’s most recent generation of processors, Ivy Bridge, is set to be introduced during the quarter.”

The firm expects Apple to sell 6.3 million iPods during the June quarter and 4.5 million Macs.

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