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Does iCloud even allow storing arbitrary files? I can't even figure out how to drag and drop a file from my mac to the icloud drive, let alone retrieve it from the iOS side.

I don't think you can compare iCloud with general purpose storage; it seems angled towards iOS app integrations instead.

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macOS Sierra syncs the desktop and documents folders across all your Macs and makes the files available in the iOS iCloud Drive app as well.

It's really handy - I've pretty much stopped using Dropbox, except to share files with people on other platforms.

With a few (and lessening) limitations, iCloud is becoming the general user-accessible filesystem that iOS has lacked since the beginning.

All that's needed now is a download manager in safari.

And a family plan, so I can pay for higher tiers and share them between my wife and I.

Um, it's trivial to drag any file on a Mac into iCloud. Look in the sidebar in the Finder, between Favorites and Devices is iCloud. Click there to see the contents of your iCloud storage.

On iOS, the iCloud Drive app lets you see everything in iCloud storage as well.

Certainly iOS app integration is important in iCloud, but it functions perfectly well for any other use too.

In the Finder, iCloud Drive is also available in the Go menu, or with the keyboard shortcut ⌘⇧I

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