WSJ: photo-sharing, video syncing coming to iCloud as upgrade looms

According to the usually well-informed Wall Street Journal, Apple is readying an upgrade to its iCloud service that will expand on the basic features which sync content between iPhones, iPads, iPods and Mac or PC computers. iCloud also provides device backups in the cloud and supports other capabilities specific to Apple’s iOS devices.

Two new features will reportedly enable basic photo sharing features with other iCloud users and will include the ability to sync videos…

Jessica W. Vascellaro, writing for the Wall Street Journal, reports:

Apple Inc. is preparing an upgrade of its online service iCloud that includes new photo-sharing features, according to people familiar with the matter. The new features, expected to be announced at Apple’s world-wide developer conference beginning June 11, will allow iCloud users to share sets of photos with other iCloud users and to comment on them, these people said.

Sources told the author that users will now be able to sync videos via iCloud as well. As rumored, these new features will require iOS 6 that should be announced at WWDC next month.

As of April, iCloud had 125 million users, gaining 25 million users since February.

In its current incarnation, iCloud only syncs photos.

The article has also confirmed news last week hinting that Notes and Reminders web apps are coming to the iCloud web interface.

These new photo-sharing and video syncing features are certainly a welcome addition to Photo Stream, an iCloud feature that holds your last 1,000 photos in the cloud, pushing them automatically to all iOS devices that have the capability enabled.

I also hope Apple will perfect the Photo Stream management capabilities so I could selectively mark individual photos for photo streaming.

What are your gripes with Photo Stream?