iCloud on the web gets a new gadget-inspired redesign

On Wednesday, Apple unveiled a redesign for iCloud.com, the company’s portal to its cloud-based services. The new design makes iCloud on the web a better destination for accessing your personal data.

The redesign is in beta and can be viewed at or, if you sign in to your iCloud account at icloud.com, you can click the alert at the top of the page to view it. Apple hasn’t announced when the redesign will move out of beta and roll out to the regular site.

The new design uses customizable widgets that allow you to get instant access to your personal information. By default, the widgets shown are Calendar, Reminders, Photos, and Mail, with a section for other apps like Find My, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. It fits in with Apple’s recent design changes, most notably the iOS home screen and lock screen widgets.

You change each widget to show information about a different app, and you can drag the tiles around and change the order. You can add or remove widgets, and each row displays two widgets – one small and one larger, which is twice the size. Here’s how the two site designs compare; drag the slider in the middle to switch views.

When you click on the header of each widget, the page for that particular app loads. For example, if you have a mail executable and click the mail header, the iCloud Mail web page loads. The individual app pages on beta.icloud.com look very similar to those on the current iCloud site.

Overall, the redesign makes iCloud a better destination for accessing your personal information. The current design has a landing page that is just app icons and you have to click on each one to get your information, while the new design puts what you need up front and if you need more details you can just click on the tile to dig deeper.