A new report says Apple may be looking to expand iCloud in iOS 8 by debuting iOS versions of OS X apps Preview and TextEdit. These additions, along with improved tools for developers who wish to integrate iCloud into their apps, are expected with the debut of iOS 8 later this year.
Apple is developing versions of the Mac operating system’s Preview and TextEdit applications that are optimized for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The applications are said to not be designed to actually edit PDFs, images, or text documents. Instead, the apps are built to serve as tools to view Preview and TextEdit files stored in iCloud by OS X.
iCloud synchronization was aded to TextEdit and Preview in OS X Mountain Lion. No iOS counterparts are available to view the synced documents.
The new apps will be designed to view documents only, and will not include any editing functionality. Instead, iOS users will be encouraged to edit the documents via iWork.
The new apps are a direct result of Apple Senior VP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi’s restructuring of Apple’s OS X and iOS development teams. iOS and OS X software engineers now work in tandem on both operating systems.
Apple is also said to be looking at developing new iCloud storage tools to allow developers to integrate iCloud features into their apps more easily. Developers have complained loud and long that building iCloud-enabled apps is a complex and unreliable process. The new tools would be designed to alleviate those issues.
