EARLIER this week, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs unveiled a new online storage and retrieval service, and an upgraded operating system for Apple Inc's mobile devices in the United States.

Though there wasn't a new hardware debut like an iPhone 5 - which many people had expected - the event was still a significant milestone for millions of iPad, iPod and iPhone users around the world.

The new iCloud and the latest operation system iOS 5 allow consumers to access music, pictures, documents and applications across the range of Apple devices currently on the market, by means of a wireless and automatic method and an online cloud storage unit.

The latest moves by Apple drew sneers from some quarters. Apple's iCloud and iOS 5 aren't innovations, but rather just blatant copies of Google, BlackBerry and Microsoft services, groused some industry officials, who included several senior Microsoft executives.

In China, some industry watchers worried that Apple is turning into "another Tencent" because it is copying ideas from small third-party application developers.

According to media reports, Tencent, China's largest Internet company, often copies the business models and technologies of small start-up firms. Based on the huge user base of its instant messaging tool QQ, Tencent easily dominates the market and has squeezed out smaller players, thereby hurting industry-wide innovation in China. Or so the complaints go.

To address concerns raised by Apple's latest move, one first has to understand its details.

With the new free iCloud service, to come on line this autumn, users will be allowed to remotely store music, photos and documents and to synchronize them with Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac- and other computers.

When something new is added to any one device, all of a user's devices are updated "almost instantly" through an online storage space of 5 gigabytes.

The iOS 5 adds more than 200 new functions, like Wi-Fi sync, Twitter integration, message notification, newsstand interface for media subscriptions and a built-in iMessage service for text, photo and location communication among Apple's devices. That makes text and multimedia short messages almost free, excluding 3G or Wi-Fi fees. Meanwhile, the system provides improved photo, mail, calendar and Internet browser user experiences.

So how much has Apple "borrowed heavily" from competitors? Well, iMessage bears more than a passing resemblance to the successful BlackBerry Messenger service, and iCloud sounds very much like third-party applications such as Dropbox and Evernote, which already offer cloud storage and backup services.

I admit that Apple has gained some experience from other firms. Actually, it has had to do so and it has chosen the right time to make its move.

"Since the last update to the iOS platform a year ago, other smartphone platforms have made considerable advances, placing significant pressure on Apple to innovate on its own platform or risk being left behind in terms of functionality," said Nick Dillon, an analyst at research firm Ovum.

The market landscape is such that Google's Android and Apple's iOS are leaders, and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 will be launched amid high expectations following Nokia's decision to adopt it and Microsoft's latest demo boasting strong cloud functions and sleek interface design.

Therefore, it was time for Apple to upgrade its system to compete with Google and Microsoft, and it was equally natural for the company to provide better built-in services to improve user loyalty.

OK, now let's examine why Apple's upgrades are really innovative and beyond just copying.

Firstly, it's a big step for Apple to go from a closed platform to a half-open one. It's the first time that Apple has been willing to integrate the applications of third parties beyond just Twitter into its iOS system. If you know Jobs' philosophy, you can better understand the meaning of all this.

Apple's logic has long been "we do the best things, but we must do it ourselves." Now that Twitter has been integrated into the new iOS 5, the logic has changed to "if you do things well enough, you are welcome to our system."

Even Apple, a proud, often arrogant firm, has seen the writing on the wall and realized it can't do everything by itself any more. The shift means that third-party developers can strive to become involved in the core system of Apple's mobile devices, which have combined sales of more than 200 million units worldwide.

I think, to preserve the quality of its functions, Apple will never totally open its whole system. But "half open" still opens a lot of doors. In short, if you're good enough, you can step through. Fair enough.

Secondly, a new filter appears to improve the quality of Apple applications. The new features have become a filter of third-party applications: useful ones can exist and others face challenges.

On Zhihu.com, China's top information technology industry forum, dozens of postings are speculating about what this all means for the future of third-party applications like Whatsapp and Evernote.

According to those postings, Whatsapp, which provides message, location and photo communications just like Apple's iMessage, won't be greatly affected because it provides a unique function as a cross-platform, covering Apple, Google's Android and BlackBerry. Apple's iMessage is only available on Apple devices.

Evernote, which helps users store and back up documents online like Apple's iCloud service, has reason to be worried. It provides users free space of 5 megabytes per month, only a thousandth of the free online storage space Apple will offer through its iCloud.

Therefore, Apple has clearly sent a signal: If you don't do things well enough, I will do it myself.

In the long term, the quality of third-party applications will improve. As an Apple user myself, I prefer the services provided by Apple rather than looking for a camera or a message application among the thousands of similar applications that lack innovation.

Thirdly, this is a key step for Apple's "post-PC" strategy.

After upgrades, people can activate and synchronize iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch over the air for the first time, which turns these products into truly independent devices without having to rely on a personal computer. With iCloud, users can backup and restore data and applications among Apple devices.

Apple has wisely chosen to scrap the fee for its cloud services, having come to the conclusion that it's better to increase customer reliance on its services. The resulting repeat sales of "post-PC" devices like iPad are thus more valuable that the revenues that were generated via MobileMe, an iCloud predecessor, which charged users US$99 annually.

"The popularity of the iOS platform, which has now been shipped on 200 million devices, and the company's ability to deliver an excellent user experience, means that these features will undoubtedly prove popular," said Ovum's Dillon.

With a powerful system and cloud service, Apple aims to create a "halo effect" - iPhone users wanting to own an iPad and vice versa.

Personally, it's good news for users like me, who own iPhones, iPads and iPods. I can download or create things on one device and others will have them automatically, instead of transferring data to each device through a cable connection.

Apple is on the way toward establishing a kingdom with device interconnection and real-time sharing among multi-screens through these upgrades.

Last but not least, Apple can expand from the personal market to the corporate market, where high profit margins await. It's a choice for clients: secure, simple and with a "cloud."

Of course, Apple faces challenges in China. Will iCloud be available here?

MobileMe was not available in China. Google, which provided cloud services like two-way syncing calendars and mails but quit the market last year, has already highlighted the problems that can arise in the complicated Chinese Internet environment.