Messages in iCloud not implemented at present, coming in a future update to iOS 11

A feature touted for iOS 11 at the 2017 WWDC was Messages in iCloud — but it was removed during the beta process, and will return at some undisclosed point in the future.

The "Messages in iCloud" feature synchronized a user's Messages "stack" between devices seamlessly. With the feature set implemented, deleting a message on one logged-in device would strike it from all, plus only the newest messages would be stored on-device with the rest held in iCloud and loaded only when needed.

At present, there is no mention of the cloud-based Messages on the feature page for iOS 11.

AppleInsider reported that feature was removed from iOS 11 during the fifth beta release. Apple claimed at the time that the purged feature will ship in a future software update to iOS 11.

Even without the functionality, users can continue to receive and store messages on each device, and can continue to backup and restore messages using iCloud Backup.

At present, not only is Messages in iCloud not fully implemented, but Apple Pay Cash and AirPlay 2 appear to be missing as well.

16 Comments

slurpy 5388 comments · 15 Years

About 7 years ago

Good, Apple should take all the time it needs, if there are bugs and people lose their message they will freak out. Probably best that this feature wasn't enabled with iOS11, goes better with a 11.1 update when theres less variables.

saarek 1578 comments · 16 Years

Apple seems to be slipping a lot these days. The lack of fusion drive support at launch for their new file system, as an example.

maybe they should just release new features throughout the year and forget the annual release cycle that they are stuck in.

bill42 131 comments · 17 Years

saarek said:

Apple seems to be slipping a lot these days. The lack of fusion drive support at launch for their new file system, as an example.

maybe they should just release new features throughout the year and forget the annual release cycle that they are stuck in.

That is the entire point of beta testing... Apple thought they had a new system covering all the bases but then learned thanks to beta testing that certain drives were having some issues so they pulled the support for now. There is no annual release cycle. They will put features into iOS 11 during updates when ever they are ready, at multiple times during the year, just as they always have done. Apple systems today are far more solid than they used to be. You think Apple is slipping these days? What about The update to System 8 o the Macintosh line where most people had to wait a full year before it would work with their software? Or the first OS X that many waited for 1-2 full years before they dared install? Today you can install an iOS or mac OS update today on the very first day and almost everything will work flawlessly.

rysmithaz 16 comments · 16 Years

This one was definitely a bummer… It would be interesting to hear the reason. During the beta. It worked perfectly for me across four devices.

mtbnut 199 comments · 8 Years

Ouch, this is going to be front-page news. In fact, the Today show is running an expose on this specific gaffe, and Bloomberg News is doing a 2-hour show titled, "Apple: The Downfall of Messages in iCloud and What It Means To You. Should You Refinance Your Home Now?"