Not really how the math works.
- You're assuming every single customer uses up his or her free 5GB. This is most likely not the case.
- Not sure how you got $573M. It should be $57.3M ($0.0675×850M).
- Apple has 2B active devices in early 2023. Considering most people have multiple Apple devices and a lot of us even have multiple Apple IDs, e.g., for work/school and for personal use, the actual number of users must be considerably lower than 2B and a lot of Apple IDs probably have very little iCloud usage.
Given #1, the cost of iCloud storage's free tier must necessarily be lower than $57.3M, which is a pittance for the world's richest company. You need to learn basic arithmetic before you start lecturing people about "real math
s".
Apple is milking its users on RAMs and cloud storage. Given how integrated iCloud is to Apple's ecosystem, 5GB is really a travesty and the amount Apple is charging for the paid tiers is downright shameful.
You are quite right. I through the numbers in the calculator and accidentally added an extra zero. $57.3M is still not a small sum for any business.
However, the goal of this is an investment to MAKE you upgrade to the next tier. If people are not upgrading their tiers, they'll drop the amount available to push users to upgrade. Some will leave, and they know this, but ultimately, it's a strategy to make you upgrade. Apple is not a charity after all.
Regarding the number of devices. That was not my metric. I was looking for Apple ID's. I quickly Googled the question and it came up with 850m in 2018. Active devices, as you rightly put it, are very different.
At the end of the day, there is no "travesty". We, the consumer, chose this path and Apple is, once again, not a charity.
I certainly don't mean it in a bad way, but if you aren't satisfied, choose another product that does meet your requirements and goals.
Interestingly, I did a little research on ChatGPT. It does provide context to the cost and ultimately, the "free" element isn't very free at all.
The exact cost to Apple for maintaining an Apple ID account is not publicly disclosed information, and it can be quite complex to estimate due to several factors.
These factors can include:
1. Infrastructure: This covers servers, data centres, network systems, and power. Apple invests heavily in its infrastructure to ensure the smooth operation of its services.
2. Software development: This includes costs associated with designing, creating, testing, and maintaining the software that manages Apple IDs and associated services.
3. Security: Apple places a high priority on protecting user data and privacy, which involves substantial investments in encryption, secure servers, and other security measures.
4. Customer service: Any time a user needs assistance with their Apple ID, whether it's resetting a password, dealing with a potential security issue, or something else, customer service costs are incurred.
5. Compliance and regulatory costs: These are the costs related to adhering to legal and regulatory requirements in the various countries where Apple operates.
Each of these factors contributes to the total cost to Apple for each Apple ID. However, these costs would likely be distributed across the large user base and offset by revenues from services and other sources. The exact per-user cost to Apple is likely a closely guarded business secret.