Oliver Haslam on October 9, 2019, 9:10 pm

iCloud Folder Sharing Coming To macOS In Spring 2020, iOS Release This Fall

Apple has confirmed that iCloud folder sharing has been delayed. It’s no huge surprise given the fact that it wasn’t part of the recently released macOS 10.15 Catalina release, even though it should have been.

Apple has now updated its own website to say that the feature will come at some point in Spring 2020, giving us the usually vague launch window we’ve become accustomed to.

Considering Apple has been beta testing macOS 10.15 Catalina for months, it’s disappointing that it wasn’t able to get its ducks in a row before now. It’s also a feature that is a big deal for those who want to be able to use iCloud Drive in lieu of services like Dropbox.

iCloud folder sharing was originally available in earlier beta versions of iOS 13 and macOS 10.15 Catalina, but it was subsequently removed as the beta program progressed. However, Apple’s current iOS 13 features page suggests that the same feature will arrive on the platform “later this fall.” That opens the door to the possibility that we could see iCloud folder sharing come to iPhone and iPad before the Mac rather than simultaneously as was originally planned.

When it does put in an appearance, this is a feature that could be big news for Dropbox in particular. The company was once courted by then Apple CEO Steve Jobs, although no deal was done. Apple subsequently made its own move with iCloud Drive. Having folders that can sync would be the next step in that play.