The iCloud Photo Library is launching alongside iOS 8.1. This new service, albeit with a beta tag, will sync and store all photos and videos across your Apple devices. Currently, the service is only built into the iOS Photos app, with OS X users having to jump through a few hoops in order to use it (more on that in a minute).
Enabling your library
Since iCloud Photo Library is in beta, you'll need to explicitly enable the feature on any and all iOS devices you'd like to use it on.
- Launch Settings
- Select Photos & Camera
- Tap the switch located next to iCloud Photo Library (Beta) to the On position
Your device will then begin uploading media stored on your device to your new photo library.
Until Apple releases the new Photos app for OS X (expected early 2015), Mac users don't have the option to enable the service.
Pricing
Any content you store in the iCloud Photo Library counts towards your iCloud storage allotment and all iCloud users receive 5 GB of space for free at signup. But as you can imagine, with storing all of your photos and videos in addition to app backups, 5 GB isn't nearly enough storage.
So if you opt-in to using iCloud Photo Library, you'll need to sign up for one of Apple's new storage plans. They are priced as follows:
- 20 GB for $0.99 per month
- 200 GB for $3.99 per month
- 500 GB for $9.99 per month
- 1 TB for $19.99 per month
You can change your iCloud storage on an iOS device by going to Settings > iCloud > Storage > Change Storage Plan.
Accessing your photos
From an iOS device, launch the Photos app and select the Photos tab. There you'll find all of your photos and videos, both stored locally on your device and those stored in your iCloud library, in chronological order.
On a computer, visit the iCloud beta website and log in to your account. Find and select the new Photos icon to browse your photo library. You'll need to download any files should you want to view or watch them.
Settings
After enabling iCloud Photo Library, you might have noticed an additional setting show up. Since iCloud Photo Library uploads all of your content at full resolution, and the rest of your connected devices automatically download the content, there's potential for it to take up precious storage space on your devices.
Apple included a setting to help you avoid this potential issue by giving you the option to download what amounts to a smaller preview for your files. I suggest selecting Optimize iPhone (or iPad) Storage to help save space.
Should you need to load the full resolution photo or video, your device will download the entire file on demand. Or if you're taking advantage of the new 128 GB storage option on new iOS devices, select Download and Keep Originals.