WD My Cloud Gets Bump To OS 3; New Hardware, Too

WD, or Western Digital company, announced future availability of My Cloud OS 3. The new operating system supports the 1.6 million My Cloud units already sold and will ship on a new My Cloud product introduced today.

WD's My Cloud Mirror is available for preorder today with e-tailers and retailers expecting delivery around September 20. The new Mirror model uses two drives in redundant RAID to maximize data protection. The second-generation model ships with an updated processor and increased memory capacity. Western Digital told us that the new Gen 2 models will increase performance up to 2x.

The new My Cloud Mirror with 1 GB of system memory and processor improvements will start at $309.99 (4 TB). The 6 TB model will sell for $379.99, and a very high capacity model will sell for $429.99 (8 TB).

Existing WD My Cloud owners can take advantage of the all-new OS 3 that adds new features as part of a total redesign. The My Cloud API has also been opened up to third-party developers with a new My Cloud Device SDK package. Western Digital wants to promote more third-party app integration. Software providers can build applications that Western Digital will then add to a marketplace, accessible through the My Cloud operating system.

Western Digital polled users with comprehensive questionnaires to get feedback on new features. The first new feature for My Cloud OS 3 is WD Sync. This syncs data across multiple PCs and notebooks and ensures the most up-to-date data is available on demand. Users can also access the data from portable devices such as phones and tablets.

Did you miss that great shot because your phone was out of memory? Now My Cloud users can delete files from their phones because the pictures and videos are automatically backed up to NAS. This is a big win for My Cloud users and their cell phone providers. Cell phones, tablets, Chromebook and Chromecast are supported.

The new mycloud.com web interface makes your files available via a web browser user interface that can be accessed from anywhere you have Internet access. 

My Cloud Albums rounds out the new features. This application allows users to send invites to friends who can then use a link to see and share pictures with the rest of the group.

OS 3 works on a number of My Cloud devices, including My Cloud; My Cloud Mirror; My Cloud Expert Series EX2, EX2100, EX4 and EX4100; and My Cloud Business Series DL2100/DL4100.