Introduction
So if you take a lot of photos or have more than one device, you probably wont have enough space to save everything you need for your new iPhone. Maybe thats why Apple is encouraging users to upgrade to a paid plan by offering 200GB of iCloud space, which is 40 times more storage than the free tier, for free.
Heres what counts for your iCloud storage : anything you store in iCloud Drive. App data stored in iCloud. Contacts, calendar, mail, notes and reminder data stored in iCloud. Photos and videos stored in iCloud Photo Library. iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch backups.
Not only do you get 200GB of iCloud storage, but you also get access to all the other Apple services you might already use. The Premier plan is also a great option if you need 2TB of space, plus all other Apple services, including the upcoming Apple Fitness+, which isnt available on other plans.
The first is the individual plan. This subscription offers up to 50 GB of iCloud storage for a single person. Plus, you also get access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade. The Family plan is where things start to get interesting. This option gives you 200 GB of iCloud storage, as well as access to Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade.
Why does Apple offer 200 GB of iCloud storage for free?
If you have a 256GB iPhone or a 512GB iPad, it becomes even more unreasonable. Apple has been stuck with 5GB of free cloud storage since iCloud was introduced nearly seven years ago. The 5GB limit has been in place ever since Apple introduced iCloud at WWDC 2011.
Of course, its a good thing that Apple is offering all new paying iCloud storage users an additional 195GB of storage for a few months, but it is not an altruistic decision. For one, Apple already offers a month of free storage for new users, so youre really only saving 3.
I agree that 200GB of iCloud storage makes life much easier, but Apple shouldnt force users to pay just so they can come back. Their phones. Google is offering 15GB on the free Google Drive plan and Apple is expected to do the same for iPhone users.
The 5GB limit has been in place since Apple introduced iCloud at WWDC 2011. Almost seven years have passed. sold out! Its too long to stick around, and its reminiscent of Apples slow move away from 16GB iPhones. It finally happened, but long after many of us had determined that 16GB was a amount of unusable space.
What counts for iCloud storage space?
Heres what counts for your iCloud storage: Everything you store in iCloud Drive. App data stored in iCloud. Contacts, calendar, mail, notes and reminder data stored in iCloud. Photos and videos stored in iCloud Photo Library. iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch backups.
You have to experiment. When you share an album, the photos will be stored in iCloud, in a section that doesnt count in your iCloud storage. But they are also reflected in the iPhone. I can see all the photos in shared albums on my iPhone, even in airplane mode.
If youre just looking for the best iCloud storage plan to meet all your needs, and you dont use any of Apples services, Apple One offers , you are better off buying an iCloud storage plan individually. Most people dont use services like Apple Arcade or Apple TV+, so getting 50GB of iCloud storage for $0.99 is a lot cheaper.
When you set up iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of storage. You can use this space for your iCloud backups, to keep your photos and videos stored in iCloud Photos, to keep your documents up to date in iCloud Drive, and more.
Should Apple charge you for iCloud storage?
But there are ways to avoid paying for more storage, or at least limit the extra amount you pay. Here are easy-to-follow tips on how to put some of iClouds biggest data consumers on a diet and save money on iCloud storage. No matter how many iPhones, iPads, or Macs you buy, Apple only provides 5GB of free iCloud storage.
Once the trial ends, your current iCloud+ plan is cancelled. Your total iCloud storage will be the amount included in your Apple One subscription. You keep your current iCloud+ plan and your iCloud storage on Apple One.
With Apple One and an iCloud+ plan, your family can share up to 4TB of total iCloud storage. Learn what to do if you use a different Apple ID for media subscriptions and iCloud storage.
Apple has made iCloud storage a seemingly essential part of everything from Macs to iPads to iPhones and even the AppleTV. There are four main elements in the service. These include: iCloud Backup Used for all iPad, iPhone and iPod backups you have made without using iTunes.
How much iCloud storage do you get with Apple Music?
With Apple One and an iCloud storage plan, you can have up to 4TB of total iCloud storage. If youre part of a Family Sharing group and a family member is on an Apple One Family or Premier plan, you can choose to keep your current iCloud storage plan or use shared iCloud storage on Apple One.
You have to experience. When you share an album, the photos will be stored in iCloud, in a section that doesnt count in your iCloud storage. But they are also reflected in the iPhone. I can see all the photos in shared albums on my iPhone, even in airplane mode.
If you subscribe to Apple Music, youll get iCloud Music Library included in your $9.99 monthly subscription; Alternatively, you can sign up for Apples iTunes Match service and pay $24.99 per year to store your iTunes library (up to 100,000 songs) in iCloud. Looking for a new device to listen to your songs?
You can store up to 100,000 songs with an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription; it does not count towards iCloud storage costs. Does it work with Apple Music and iTunes Match?
How much iCloud storage can I have?
When you set up iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of storage. You can use this space for your iCloud backups, to keep your photos and videos stored in iCloud Photos, to keep your documents up to date in iCloud Drive, and more. You can always check how much iCloud storage youre using in your device settings or at iCloud.com.
When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. If you use all your iCloud storage, you can buy more starting at 50 GB for $0.99 per month. Learn more about pricing in your country or region. You can also reduce the size of your Photo Library.
You can use this space for your iCloud backups, to keep your photos and videos stored in iCloud Photos, to keep your documents up to date in iCloud Drive, and more. You can always check how much iCloud storage youre using in your devices Settings or on iCloud.com. If youre running out of space, you can free up space or switch to iCloud+ at any time.
On iCloud.com, go to Account Settings, then see the Storage section. To view information about a segment of the bar graph, hold the pointer over the segment until its name and numeric storage size appear on the graph. You can also check your iCloud storage from your other devices. See Check your iCloud storage online or on any device.
Are shared albums counted in iCloud storage on iPhone?
Albums take up quite a bit of local storage on the iPhone (thumbnail). Selecting a photo from the album downloads the full version to your phone, but otherwise shared albums dont take up much space locally. If theres a limit, its not 100. You currently have shared albums of more than 500 photos and videos. Shared albums dont take up iCloud storage.
If your iPhone needs more space, it will automatically delete cached images. Photos in shared albums are actually compressed, so dont use them as your primary photo storage. It will use your iCloud storage but not your physical storage. 9to5mac.com/2022/0…
Photos uploaded to My Photo Stream or Shared Albums do not count towards iCloud storage. iCloud stores photos you upload to My Photo Stream for 30 days so your devices have enough time to connect to iCloud and download them. Learn how to save photos from My Photo Stream or a shared album to your device.
Photos and videos you share (and any comments or likes attached to those photos) stay in iCloud until until you or a collaborator manually delete them, or until you delete the shared album entirely. Photos and videos in your shared albums are saved to iCloud, but they dont count against your iCloud storage limit.
How much does iCloud Music Library cost?
Note: If you only use the separate $24.99/year iTunes Match service, iCloud Music Library wont give you access to music from the Apple Music catalog you need an Apple Music subscription for that. If you want to subscribe and use iCloud Music Library with iTunes Match:
Yes, both the Apple Music subscription service and the standalone iTunes Match option. iCloud Music Library allows you to upload or merge your personal music library with the DRM-free iTunes Store catalog.
Please note that iCloud Music Library may take some time to become available. Depending on how much content you already have in your iTunes library, it may take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours after the feature is initially enabled. Here are some more details about iCloud Music Library from Apples support page:
There are several plans you can subscribe to starting with 5GB free (just to try) or a family plan (up to 1TB , $9.99 per month). Now all the music you buy from iTunes is available in your iCloud Music Library.
How many songs can I store with my Apple Music subscription?
How Apple Music manages your downloaded songs You can have up to 25,000 songs in your music library. Only songs less than 200MB or less than 2 hours are downloaded. Songs encoded in ALAC, WAV, or AIFF formats will be locally transcoded to a separate temporary 256 Kbps AAC file prior to download. . To get started, simply set up Family Sharing on your iOS or iPadOS device, Android phone, or Mac and invite your family members to join you. Is there an Apple Music student subscription?
You can have up to 25,000 tracks in your music library. Songs you purchased from the iTunes Store do not count against this limit. Only songs less than 200MB or less than 2 hours are downloaded. Songs encoded in ALAC, WAV, or AIFF formats will be locally transcoded to a separate temporary 256 Kbps AAC file before downloading.
Each member of an Apple Music Family Membership can stream millions of songs from the Apple Music catalog. And each family member gets their own personal music library and music recommendations based on what they like to listen to.
How much free cloud storage do you have on your iPhone?
Find out how much iCloud storage you have on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: If youre using iOS 10.3 or later, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Tap iCloud Storage or Manage Storage. On your Mac, go to Apple menu () > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Manage. On your PC, open iCloud for Windows.
You can free up iCloud storage space by deleting content you dont use: Before you delete anything, you might want to archive or make copies of your information you store in iCloud.
Old enough to remember the RAM cleaners of yore, were sure you get a familiar vibe. So there is no official word on the ideal amount of free space. But, as anyone whos filled their iPhone to the point of bursting can attest, very full storage has a clear impact on performance. Whats a person to do?
Free cloud storage just got even better! Yes, there really are free, untethered cloud storage services out there. A lot of them, in fact. While almost all have premium plans that offer more space, the free cloud storage on offer is usually more than enough for most people.
Conclusion
An iCloud account comes with 5GB of free cloud storage. This is not enough for most users, which means you may need to purchase a paid account. Apple offers a limited number of paid iCloud options. Some plans allow you to share data with members of your Apple family. Current plans include:
More iCloud storage: Depending on which iCloud+ plan you have, youll get 50GB, 200GB, or 2TB of storage. Chances are you wont use ALL of these extra features, but you probably will, and it can make a subscription worthwhile. Lets be honest, some of these features just wont appeal to a wide range of users.
All aboard the 50GB/$0.99 bandwagon. I really wish they had discounted annual plans. Id love to spend $99 at Apple for a year of 1TB (like Dropbox). Dropbox performs better in terms of synchronization and access. iCloud is not so intuitive. Or $10 for a year of 50GB. Yes, 50GB for $0.99.
The 2TB plan might be ideal for those who do a lot of video work but want it in the cloud for a cheap price, for example opposed to something like an external hard drive. What also makes it great is that customers can use it on as many devices that have the iCloud storage buyers Apple ID enabled.