While you can Backup iPhone using both iCloud & iTunes, there is a crucial difference between iCloud and iTunes Backup of your device that you need to understand.
To start with, iCloud Backups are always saved to Apple’s iCloud servers, while iTunes Backups are downloaded to the local storage of your Windows computer or MacBook.
However, the crucial difference between the two is that iCloud Backups are not considered as being a complete Backup of iPhone, while iTunes Backups contain almost all the data as available on your device.
Difference Between iCloud and iTunes Backup of iPhone
Going by Apple’s explanation, both manual & automated iCloud Backups appear to have been designed to save or Backup data; which is not already synced to iCloud. Hence, what is actually included in an iCloud Backup depends on the overall settings for iCloud at the point of backup.
For example, you can expect iMessages, Text Messages & MMS Messages to be included in an iCloud Backup, even if you had switched-off the “Messages in Cloud” feature of Apple’s native Messaging App on your iPhone.
However, this does not appear to be the case for third-party apps like WhatsApp, where users have reported WhatsApp messages not being included in an iCloud Backup; when automated Backups to iCloud within WhatsApp were not switched-on.
In general, a typical iCloud Backup should include all your iMessages, Text Messages, MMS Messages, Voicemail, Device Settings, App Data, Purchase history and photos located on the internal storage of your device.
This means, an iCloud Backup does not include the actual Apps, Music, Books, Movies, Games and Files (if any) that you had downloaded to your device. Also, photos appearing on your device from iCloud are not included; as they are already available on iCloud.
While photos downloaded to your device from WhatsApp and other messaging/social media apps are included in an iCloud Backup, WhatsApp messages and conversations carried on using third-party apps are not included; as they are expected to be included in within-app iCloud Backups.
In comparison, when you download a manual Backup of iPhone to Mac or Windows computer using iTunes, the downloaded Backup File can be expected to contain almost all the data as available on your device, including all Apps, Music, Books and Messages from third-party apps.
Why Does iCloud Backup Skip Items?
The primary reason behind skipping Apps, Music and other items in an iCloud Backup is to make iCloud Backups as fast and efficient as possible.
However, this efficiency comes with the inconvenience of having to re-download Apps, Music, Books and other items from App Store and third-party sources, if you end up restoring iPhone from an iCloud Backup.
When to Download iTunes Backup to computer
Since, an iTunes Backup includes almost all the data as available on iPhone, it is always a good idea to download a complete backup of your device to computer, before major troubleshooting or performing a Factory Reset.
Downloading an iTunes Backup becomes necessary, if WhatsApp and other third-party messaging apps have not been configured to Back up their data to iCloud via their own individual In-app iCloud Backup settings.
Also, iTunes provides the option to download regular, password protected and encrypted Backups of your device to computer. Encrypted Backups include additional data like passwords, Wi-Fi network settings, Health data and Website history, which are not included in a regular Backup.
Note: When you download an Encrypted Backup of iPhone to computer, you will be required to setup a password, which will be required; when you restore your device using the Encrypted Backup.
How to Setup Automated iCloud Backups
All that is required to setup iPhone to automatically Backup its data to iCloud is to enable the iCloud Backup option on your device by using steps as provided in this guide: How to Backup iPhone to iCloud.
Once iCloud Backups are enabled on iPhone, it will start automatically backing up its data to iCloud, whenever it is connected to Wi-Fi network and is plugged-in for charging.
How to Download iTunes Backup to Compute
In order to download an iTunes Backup of iPhone to Windows computer, the latest version of iTunes needs to be downloaded and installed on your computer. If you are using MacBook, you can download a complete backup of iPhone to computer by using the Finder utility as available on your Mac.
For the actual steps to download a complete Backup of iPhone to Windows computer and Mac, you can refer to this guide: How to Backup iPhone to Mac & Windows Computer.
Get Used to Both iCloud and iTunes Backup
While iCloud Backups are automatic and easy to setup, it is always a good idea to get used to downloading a complete Backup of iPhone to Mac or Windows computer by using iTunes.
An ideal Backup plan should include both automated iCloud Backups and frequent manual Backups of your device downloaded to Mac or Windows computer.