The Information has published a report that claims “deep organizational issues” within Apple are holding up iCloud development and complicating products. The cloud-based service, which helps keep data in sync between iPhones, iPads, iPods and Macs, reportedly lacks from a centralized iCloud team at the Cupertino-based company.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was particularly keen on the idea of iCloud, a platform that he introduced shortly before his death in late 2011. Jobs had a particular interest in keeping photos, one of the most highly shared forms of media, in sync between devices. Yet, over three years later, Apple has not reached the full potential it envisioned with iCloud.
For an example of this, one must look no further than iCloud Photo Library, a feature that allows iPhone or iPad users to store full-sized photos across all devices. The feature was supposed to be one of the headline additions to iOS 8, but it missed its deadline and currently remains in beta. The functionality is also absent on OS X, pending the release of the forthcoming Photos for Mac for machines running Yosemite.
While Apple is known for providing a top-notch integrated software and hardware experience, its ability to provide services, particularly those that run remotely, has been scrutinized in recent years. Apple Maps was a fiasco on its own, leading to a shakeup of the company’s executive team, and the company hasn’t fared particularly well since.
According to the report, iCloud Photo Library has been in flux because of the lack of a “centralized team working on core cloud infrastructure” at Apple. iCloud Photo Library also lacks a project manager to lead the initiative at One Infinite Loop, leaving developers responsible for working on “nearly everything on their own.”
“One person close to the company says Apple is taking some steps to build some common cloud technology but has moved slowly in part because it’s used to projects residing in isolated teams,” the report claims.
A massive celebrity photo leak attributed to iCloud in September hasn’t made things any easier for Apple, which was highly scrutinized about privacy issues surrounding its cloud-based system after the photos leaked. Apple has been aggressively reminding users about two-step authentication and other security measures in light of the situation.
Despite the internal struggles, iCloud Photo Library has rolled out to a wider number of users through iOS 8.1 and Photos for Mac on OS X Yosemite is on target for an early 2015 launch.
