You just got your shiny new iPhone, unboxed it, and turned it on for the first time. It’s a good feeling. During the setup process, you’ve input your contacts, mail, and calendar into the phone. You start taking photos and downloading files. And just a couple days in, you get a notification that you’re out of iCloud storage. You open your settings to find that you only have a measly 5GB to use. No, there isn’t supposed to be an extra zero there. Show
It’s a pitiful offering. In an era of cloud storage, Apple is way behind. Sure, iCloud isn’t necessarily an exact competitor of the likes of Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox — but to a certain extent, there’s crossover. And while you get 15GB for free with Google Drive, iCloud offers one third of that. Apple’s not alone either — Microsoft OneDrive offers 5GB, and Dropbox offers an even worse free plan of 2GB. But unlike OneDrive or Dropbox, if you have an iPhone, you already forked over hundreds or thousands of dollars to Apple, and are likely to spend even more in the App Store and on its other products. Yet. you only get 5GB of iCloud storage for free, which isn’t even enough to let you use all of Apple’s services (which rely on iCloud storage) for more than a few weeks before you max it out. Related
Cloud storage becomes a necessityCloud storage has gotten more and more useful over the years — and more and more integrated with your apps and services. In fact, in 2020, you kind of need it. You might be able to get away with using a free plan at times, but even if you can’t, it’s well worth paying for. And iCloud storage in particular is super useful. Not only does it back up your entire iPhone, which can help in case of an emergency, but it can also store photos and videos from your phone, files from your Mac, and so on. These days, iCloud is the backbone that lets you use Mail, Notes, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Messages, passwords … you get the idea. If it happens on your Apple device, it can probably be backed up to iCloud. In other words, your entire digital life can be accessed quickly and easily on any device that’s logged into your Apple ID. In a pinch, you can even access it all on devices that aren’t logged in, through the (admittedly subpar) iCloud website. iCloud is the backbone that lets you use every Apple app and service Even the lowest $1-per-month 50GB plan or $3-per-month 200GB-per-month plan can be seriously valuable. The 50GB plan is basically a requirement if you have more than one Apple device or use any of its built-in apps. With the 200GB plan, many people will be able to store all their photos and videos, backup their phones, and store a bunch of files — with room to spare. Of course, the new Apple One subscriptions are worth considering too, because if you’re going to be paying for iCloud anyway, you might as well get other things at the same time. But if you’re not careful, you can end up paying more for services you don’t need or won’t use. Realistically, most people don’t play games on Apple Arcade, don’t need to access news stories on Apple News+, and don’t yet know if they’ll use Apple Fitness+. But for those that do use those services in addition to iCloud, Apple One represents serious value. Even if you don’t end up subscribing to Apple One, it’s worth looking into iCloud storage. Even if just to get rid of that red bubble on the Settings app warning you that you’re out of storage. If you’re using an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and wondering if it’s worth paying for iCloud storage. The answer is: It depends. If you have a lot of photos and videos, then yes! But if you mostly use your device for email and social media, then no—you probably don’t need to pay for additional storage. I’m a tech expert with 10+ years of experience with Apple devices. In addition to tinkering with tech, I run an online lifestyle blog so I create lots of content with photos and videos. Needless to say, my Apple devices require a ton of storage. In this article, we’ll look at how much iCloud storage you need and some alternatives that might be worth considering. Contents
How Much Storage Do You Really Need?The first thing to consider is how much storage you currently have. This will act as a baseline for the amount of storage space that you need to back up your photos, videos, and other types of data. If you’re trying to figure out how many GBs are needed for certain types of files, check out this handy chart from Apple:
How to Figure Out How Much Storage Space You NeedWhen you’re trying to figure out how much storage space you need, it’s important to consider what you’ll be storing. Do you have a lot of photos? Videos? Some music? All three? If so, how many songs are in your library, and how long are your videos and photos? Here are some examples of how much storage space you may need:
Is Buying iCloud Storage Worth it?Well, my answer is: ultimately, it’s up to you. Whether it is worth buying iCloud storage largely depends on your needs and budget. If you have a lot to store, paying for iCloud storage might be an effective way to keep your data safe in case something happens to your computer or phone. However, if you don’t have much data at all, the monthly fee might not be worth it for the amount of space that you need. If you aren’t sure how much storage space you need, start with a small amount for now and see how things go over time before committing to purchasing more. Plus, the 5GB basic plan is free, if you’re running out of iCloud storage, there are some tips to free up some space, see this video made by Apple: What Are Some Alternatives to iCloud?There are a lot of cloud storage options out there. Here are some alternatives to iCloud that might better suit your needs:
DropboxDropbox is a cloud storage service that allows you to store, sync, and access files online. It’s available for free (with a 2GB storage limit) and it has several paid tiers including Pro (1TB, $9.99 per month), Business ($15 per user per month), and Enterprise. Google DriveGoogle Drive offers 15GB of storage for free, but you can upgrade to 100GB for $1.99/month. Google Drive isn’t as widely used as iCloud or Dropbox, so if you want to share files with people who don’t have the same cloud account as you do, you may run into problems. External Hard DrivesExternal hard drives are a great way to store files. You can get them in different sizes and they are portable, so you can use them on multiple devices. If you have a lot of photos to back up or music to download, an external drive is a perfect solution. We hope we’ve helped you figure out whether or not iCloud storage is worth it for your needs. If you have any questions about this article, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Is adding iCloud storage worth it?Whether you should upgrade your iCloud+ account depends on your device usage and storage needs. For instance, if you store a lot of data and transfer it between multiple Apple devices, you'll benefit from the services of iCloud+. At the very least, you won't waste time backing up your data manually.
What if you stop paying for iCloud storage?However, if you are unable to pay during the grace period or if you cancel the storage plan, your cloud storage limit will reset to the default limit and you will not be able to add more data. Moreover, you will lose access to all the additional storage space, and you will not be able to create any new files.
Does buying iCloud storage free up space on iPhone?Buying more iCloud storage does not increase the physical space on your iPhone. iCloud permits you to sync more data with iCloud if you run out of space on the cloud by needing more space than the free 5GB of iCloud space.
Why should I buy iCloud storage?If you want your Mac documents to stay completely in sync among all your devices, and you want to be able to access all files from your iPad and iPhone, using iCloud Drive is by far the simplest option, assuming you're willing to pay for storage once you hit the ceiling of the 5GB that's included for free.
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Is it worth it to buy icloud storage
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