Apple informed developers on Sunday that it will be resetting backup data on the still beta iCloud service on Thursday, September 22. The announcement has led to speculation that Apple is planning on officially launching its MobileMe replacement at about the same time.
iCloud gets closer to its official launch
Apple told developers, “On Thursday, September 22, the iCloud Backup data will be reset. Backing up to iCloud or restoring from an iCloud backup will be unavailable from 9 AM PDT – 5 PM PDT.”
The beta version of iCloud has been available to iOS developers for some time so they can test their apps and online services for compatibility. Apple promised to roll out the service to the public when iOS 5 is released.
iCloud is Apple’s replacement for the MobileMe service customers are currently using. iCloud will offer data syncing between iOS devices and computers, online backups for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and support for downloading purchased content to all devices connected to an iTunes Store account.
The data backup reset may be one of the final steps ahead of the official iCloud launch. If so, the release of iOS 5 and iCloud could be only days away.
[Thanks to 9 to 5 Mac for the heads up.]