iTunes Match currently matching music from a user library. Photo courtesy of Ankit Tyagi.

Earlier today, Apple released a developers-only beta of iTunes Match, a new cloud-based service that promises to store your music collection in the cloud and allow you to listen to it anytime on any device. The key difference between iTunes Match and other similar services, such as Google Music, is how that music gets synced to the cloud.

While other services automatically upload every song in your library, iTunes Match figures out which songs are already on Apple's servers from the iTunes Store saving time. With Apple's claim of over 18 million songs in the iTunes Store, the majority of music will not need to be uploaded from home computers.

One new feature about iTunes Match that wasn't highlighted at WWDC 2011 is the ability to stream already synced music. To save storage space on portable devices, Apple has allowed users to stream music from their personal iCloud library while providing the option to download songs as well for offline use.

To read more about what the beta has to offer, read TNW's article.

Watch iTunes Match in action below.

Reach Ankit Tyagi here.

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