Yes, there is a Windows client that has most of the same core functionalities, but it’s nowhere near as neatly integrated or slick as it is on a Mac.ĭropbox provides a more universal approach, but it is less deeply integrated into either operating system.

Things become rather more limited when you’re trying to run iCloud Drive on another device, such as a Windows machine. Left to its own devices, it will hide what it considers to be junk (like screenshots) for a perfectly curated gallery - of course, you can show all content - and tagging by location and faces works well, too. Photos and videos reside in the Photos app, which is available on macOS and iOS, as well as in the browser if you don’t have an Apple device. We can’t move on without finally mentioning Photos, which is one of a handful of other services included with iCloud Drive. Apple’s own apps can open Microsoft Office files by default (with some loss of formatting), but to open an Apple file on Windows devices, you’ll first have to convert and export it accordingly. There are online versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, however, we much prefer working from the desktop versions of the apps, which are available free of charge, though on Mac only. There is browser access, too, which looks slick and incorporates access to the entire iCloud ecosystem. Other desktop clients, including Dropbox, do offer greater control in terms of bandwidth throttling, however for the most part iCloud Drive does a solid job of syncing in the background.

The “Optimize Mac Storage” switch inside System Preferences on Mac allows users to control whether all files should be downloaded, or to keep them in the cloud and only download them when necessary. Depending on what you have enabled, files will show in Finder or the mobile Files app, the Photos app, and other applications like Notes, Reminders, and Calendar. There isn’t so much a dedicated client for Macs, iPhones, and iPads, but rather a series of settings to toggle.

The slickest experience, particularly for users already working from Apple’s own hardware, will come from the desktop client and mobile apps.

Idrive dropbox