Shortly after a week of announcements at 2018 I/O keynote, Google announces some changes made to its online storage now called Google One.

Taking Everything Online

Thanks to faster internet upload and download speeds, users have slowly shifted away from local storage options. Instead, most people have opted to make use of cloud-based storage solutions for convenience. The search company revealed that users who only need 15 GB or less can still enjoy its Drive service for free.

However, for file sizes beyond what the free service can offer, users can sign up for its new service with several storage options. Existing subscribers will apparently be upgraded to its One platform at no extra cost in the coming months.

Google One Against The Competition

As of now, there are plenty of cloud-based storage services available for users on different platforms. Each one offers various options with a corresponding subscription fee that charges monthly or annually.

For Google One, subscription plans start out at $1.99 for 100 GB, $2.99 for 200 GB, and $9.99 for 2 TB. All of these are on a per month basis. Additionally, users can reportedly share the service with up to five users. Sizes of about 2 TB reportedly have the same price with the service still called Drive.

Apple offers iOS users 5 GB free via iCloud while anything larger will cost $0.99 for 50 GB, $2.99 for 200 GB, and $9.99 for 2 TB. The service charges the customer on a monthly basis just like the former and likewise offers an option to share with up to five other people via Family Sharing.

In the meantime, Dropbox offers its online storage services at $8.25 for 1 TB. On the other hand, Microsoft advertises its OneDrive services with four subscription options available. It starts off with a 5 GB free storage and $1.99 per month for 50 GB.

Its premium service that comes with an Office 365 subscription is $69.99 per year with 1 TB allocated for one phone and tablet. For five or more users, the yearly fee jumps up to $99.99.

Lastly, Amazon Drive appears to give the best value for the dollar. Its 100 GB service amounts to $11.99 per year while the 1 TB option is just $59.99 annually.

Cloud-Based Future

As technology improves, image and video resolution also go up. What was once considered adequate internal storage sizes is huge enough. Therefore, other than flash memory expansion, online storage services such as Google One have become indispensable for people on the move.