For example, iOS has these features:
- iCloud backup restore or peer-to-peer transfer, very early in the device setup process
- Two ways for things to be stored in iCloud, each with a corresponding list of per-app (not per-folder) toggle switches in iCloud Settings
- “Saved to iCloud” normal syncing
- Requires apps to use the right APIs and to handle conflicting changes
- Allows same data to be read and modified by multiple devices
- iCloud backup
- Available for all apps
- Separate backup per device
- Only downloaded when setting up a new device
- In app sandboxes, only excludes
tmp(Flatpak equivalent is somewhere in/run) andLibrary/Caches(equivalent tocachedirectory in Flatpak sandbox) by default - Allows apps to set
isExcludedFromBackupattribute for specific files (useful for things that are easy to recreate via download but are expected by the user to not be automatically deleted) - Includes system configuration such as home screen layout
- Backs up a list of installed apps without backing up their executables and assets
- “Saved to iCloud” normal syncing
- Synced list of previously installed apps, not separate per-device
you want a solution for your computer? or for your phone?
if it’s for your phone and it is still iOS then no, the Apple Ecosystem is closed, there are some reverse engineered offers but they tend to be patched out or not be reliable.
Support for both iOS and GNU + Linux is a noteworthy convenient feature of a syncing system, but I’m more focused on what’s currently available on GNU + Linux, which probably needs to be built upon to replicate Apple’s level of quality.