After launching new iPhones last month, Apple is promoting iCloud+ with a prominent banner on its home page, in a bid to boost its services revenue. In addition to more storage, all iCloud+ plans include five perks for iPhone users.
As a refresher, iCloud includes 5GB of storage for free. If you want extra storage, you need to subscribe to an iCloud+ plan. In the United States, prices range from $0.99 per month for 50GB of storage to $59.99 per month for 12TB of storage.
Here are the five perks included with all iCloud+ plans:
Private Relay keeps your Safari browsing history entirely private from network providers, websites, and even Apple.
Hide My Email generates unique, random email addresses whenever needed.
HomeKit Secure Video allows you to capture and review home security footage in an end-to-end encrypted format.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Hide My Email ('https://support.apple.com/en-us/guide/iphone/iphcb02e76f7/ios') generates unique, random email addresses whenever needed
I use this feature all the time for when I sign up for free trials (with various subscription services)
(or) companies that require you provide an email address….but you don’t want to give them your ACTUAL email address - for the purpose of being able to relinquish unwanted newsletter spam shall said company(s) refuse compliance with ‘unsubscribe’ initiations on my end
iCloud is the only Apple subscription service that I use. I have to say, only 5GB for free is pretty pathetic, but the prices for 50GB and 200GB (the tier I use) are very reasonable!
Curious that with the absence of real competition, as far as integration with the Os goes, the prices increase linearly with no discount whatsoever. 2-6-12 Tb all have the same “side benefits” and yet the storage price increases linearly instead of flattening out. Explain to me again why the EU shouldn’t enforce some competition as far as iOS integration goes? There’s nothing remotely comparable in terms of cloud storage for iOS devices. Nothing that keeps Photos albums, faces, backups and the like. And, mind you, iCloud is reportedly “stupid” (all face recognition happens on device, as well as most privacy sensitive information and/or handling or said information) and yet no one outside Apple can provide it? There’s plenty of companies that could provide secure, encrypted storage of the data if they only could, and for a fraction of the price. And yet privacy, bla bla bla. If the data is mine, handled on device, and Apple cannot access it, why shouldn’t Apple allow third parties, at the same condition, to offer the same service? Or, better still, allow me to have an “on premise” compatible device doing the exact same (as time capsule was)? 120 usd a year for 1 tb of cloud storage, even factoring the services (which, again, are device dependent and not handled by the cloud) is absurd. Apple’s iCloud, per their definition and privacy orientation, is just some dumb disk in the sky…
The 99 cent option should be free or it should be 10 GB for every device on the account at minimum. 5 GB might work for some if all you are backing up is a single device and you don't use iCloud Drive, but backups alone for an iPhone and iPad can easily surpass 5 GB. With Google giving 2 TB free for the first year with Pixel Pro phones, Apple's stingy storage behavior is unacceptable.
