Nowadays, cloud storage is something we use and don’t think about (except when we hit storage limits) because it has become ubiquitous in our daily lives. And it’s getting cheaper too. Prices of cloud storage services like Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud Storage and Dropbox have dropped over the past few years.
The commoditisation of cloud storage is likely to push prices down even further, especially in terms of consumer cloud storage. You can now get 2TB for as low as USD9.99 (MYR39.90) from services like iCloud. Yes, it’s surprising that Apple gives users the best bang-for-buck amongst cloud storage players.
Microsoft’s OneDrive for instance, gives you 1TB for USD6.99 but includes access to Office 365. Dropbox Plus, on the other hand charges USD8.25 for 1TB. Both still lose out to Apple in terms of price-per-terabyte.
On a personal front, I currently subscribe to 2TB of Google Drive (USD19.99/MYR85.99), 200GB on iCloud (USD2.99/MYR11.90), 100GB of OneDrive storage (USD1.99/MYR8) plus an Office 365 subscription (USD9.99/MYR41) that gives me an additional 1TB.
https://youtu.be/lWyv1k-kRaQ
Hello, Google One
So, here’s where Google is changing the game. In line with current consumer trends and requirements, it’s replacing its long-standing Google Drive paid consumer plans with something called Google One.
In essence, it’s Google Drive on steroids, and it’s half the price.
Call it a revamp, call it an enhancement. I call it a win for consumers – especially awesome for people who require more storage.
If you, like me, are currently paying for space on Google Drive (Gmail, Photos and more), then you’ll love that Google One will give you more.
Google One pricing plans
Google One plans start from USD1.99 per month for 100GB, USD2.99 for 200GB or USD9.99 for 2TB. The 2TB plan now costs the same as 1TB on the old Google Drive plan. If you’re currently on the 1TB plan, you’ll automatically be upgraded to the new 2TB plan.
For people who need even more, Google will be happy to sell you 10TB, 20TB and 30TB for UD99.99 and up to USD299.99 per month.
You’ll also be able to share your storage quota with up to five family members.
But it isn’t all about cheaper storage.
Google One also includes some perks with the new membership. You get 24/7 technical support for Google’s team of experts via live chat (let’s hope they’re not really bots). You’ll also get credits for Google Play Store and deals on hotels found in Google Search. Additionally, you’ll also be offered member deals for purchases in the Google Store and through Google Express.
For business, GSuite remains the go-to service for storage and other features.
The bad news
This all sounds fantastic. But only for US users for now. Google has not announced when it will roll out the new service to other regions.
Source: Google Blog, 2
