“Once upon a time one of the primary handicaps of iOS devices was the fact that you had to physically connect it to a Windows or Mac PC with a USB sync cable to back it up using iTunes,” Tony Bradley writes for PCWorld. “With iOS 5 Apple introduced iCloud, essentially allowing users to cut the cord.”
“But these iOS backup methods were not created equal, and if you don’t choose carefully you could be risking significant data loss,” Bradley writes. “To ensure your iPhone or iPad data is fully protected, here’s a look at what each option backs up and when to use it.”
“iCloud Backup lets you back up your data wirelessly and automatically to your iCloud account,” Bradley writes. “While this method is exceptionally convenient, it doesn’t perform a full backup. It backs up only what Apple deems the “most important data” on your iOS device: your camera roll, accounts, documents, and settings.”
“Apps are the most glaring omission from the list of data iCloud backs up. But that’s mostly for the sake of efficiency. Your purchased apps, music, movies, and books will be re-downloaded from the App, iTunes, and iBook stores when you restore from an iCloud Backup,” Bradley writes. “The same cannot be said about your music or videos that weren’t purchased through iTunes, photos that aren’t stored in the local camera roll, your call history, homescreen arrangement, and loads of other data. To make safety copies of those, you’ll have to use the good ol’ iTunes Backup.”
Read more in the full article here.