Google cut the price for 2TB cloud storage plan in half, and created a new 200GB option. It also redubbed all its online storage under a new “Google One” name.
The goal seems to be to make Google’s storage offerings for consumers more competitive with Apple’s.
Under the plans announced today, a 200GB subscription is $2.99 a month. Or subscribers can choose a 2TB plan, which is now $9.99 a month. The previous 1TB Google Drive plan is no more.
The company’s basic 100GB for $1.99 offering is unchanged, though, as are its enterprise storage plans.
These changes make Google’s offering closer to Apple’s in price. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for 99 cents a month, 200GB is $2.99, and 2TB is $9.99.
Just announced today, Google One is only available on a limited basis. But that’s going to change, as it will apparently replace Google Drive. The company notes, “If you have a paid Drive storage plan, you’ll be automatically upgraded to Google One over the coming months.”
There’s more to Google One
A benefit for families is that these new plans can be shared. “One of the most common requests we’ve received is for storage plans to be sharable within a family. With Google One, you can add up to five family members to your plan and simplify storage under one bill. Everyone gets their own private storage space as well as the additional benefits of Google One,” says a blog post from Pavni Diwanji, a VP and head of this service.
Those “additional benefits” include tech support. “With Google One you get one-tap access to experts for help with our consumer products and services. Plus, you’ll gain access to extras from other Google products, like credits on Google Play or deals on select hotels found in Google Search. And we’ll be adding more benefits over time,” Diwanji promised.
iPhone, iPad, and Mac users can all use Google Drive. There is a free macOS app, and a free iOS one, too. Apple’s Files app cooperates well with the latter option. For those who don;t want to pay for storage, Google offers 15G for free.
