Apple Launches New 6TB and 12TB iCloud+ Plans

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I’m having 20TB HDD on my desk and i still need at least 2TB iCloud storage.

I don't know if that is simply a statement or if you want help??? If the latter, identify the splits of what is eating up so much data. Apple provides a handy graphical bar to show you the data hogs. Click the "Manage" button by that bar to break it out into even more detail... by app. Click the bigger hogs in that list and it will give you a little description of suggestions to free up iCloud space. Act on some of those suggestions.

And note: I run a robust business and use iCloud too- the free 5GB portion. I also use some free cloud with Dropbox and sometimes Microsoft and Google (client preferences). For a quick file transfer From one Mac to anther, iCloud Drive can be handy (albeit very slow, though so is the other Cloud options).

Again, I'm not anti-cloud or anti-iCloud. My gripe is simply with- IMO- very high pricing. These prices do not appear to be (App Store) 30% off the top or even (general) 4X% margin. These appear to be cost of the tangible storage multiplied many times (and keep multiplying the longer one remains a user). No wonder they are so enthusiastic about service revenue! Services profit appears to be far beyond any hardware they sell... and is the profit that keeps on giving.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I was just clearing out my messages making and cleaning up storage to prepare for 15 Pro Max, and my messages was 13GB and I thought that was a lot. 🤣

That IS a lot.

Purge those messages by closing those conversations and then starting new ones vs. keeping them open forever. A great strategy is to text just like you make phone calls:

1. start a new call/text,
2. communicate, (and this next part is the key...)
3. close the call/text.

A data miser approach is that each time you open the app to text someone, there are NO texting conversations visible. Obviously, if someone texts you, there will be a starter text in there on open. However, when that conversation is complete, delete the conversation.

There is a setting to automate message deletion in preferences called "Keep Messages..." Choose the shortest timeframe after that to automatically close text conversations kept through that amount of time. When I've helped people solve their "iCloud Full" problem, one of the issues is that they do NOT do #3 in the above list and they have "Keep Messages..." set to "Forever."

If someone texts you something you want to keep, move it to where it needs to go (photo to Photos app, song to Music app, video to TV app, document to Documents folder), then delete the text conversation.

If you cover a bunch of information in texts that you need to keep, print to PDF archive, save the PDF to wherever you want to store the conversation on your own HDD/SSD and then delete the text conversation.

 

[laptech]

What a coincidence, the new soon to be released iphone 15 models take 4k pics/videos which will mean an huge increase in file size but instead of giving very high storage capacity on the iphone, they add two new tiers to icloud, payable of course. Always thinking of their wallet,,,i mean customers aren't they

 

[Moi Ici]

So I just bought an extra 2tb on iCloud +. I already have Apple one premium with 2tb. It seems Apple just took the new upgrade money but didn’t give me the extra 2tb!! They have made this whole senario absolutely insanely complicated. Also, thanks to Apple I have 2 ids. One for Apple ID and one for (the old one) for media etc. I hate it

 

[Moi Ici]

Hmm… when I subscribed to Apple One Premiere it’s asking what ID I want to put iCloud+ on between what I’m using for iTunes and iCloud. I then gladly put icloud storage to my iCloud ID. All problems solved.

Is it really that easy?

 

[matrix07]

Is it really that easy?

As far as I remember, but that’s 2 years ago. ☺️

 

[webkit]

It’s a disgusting move by apple. They know their users are cornered into paying for more data.

It’s extremely difficult to have multiple deviices and not exceed 5 gb.

Someone needs to investigate.

You're right, this probably should be investigated. How dare Apple offer a service and try to charge for it. No one should be "cornered" into paying for more cloud storage, it should be free. Don't these cloud service companies know anything??

 

[zbugrkx]

So I just bought an extra 2tb on iCloud +. I already have Apple one premium with 2tb. It seems Apple just took the new upgrade money but didn’t give me the extra 2tb!! They have made this whole senario absolutely insanely complicated. Also, thanks to Apple I have 2 ids. One for Apple ID and one for (the old one) for media etc. I hate it

Hate it too and I tried this morning but it only seem to work if you use the purchase IS as your apple one premier / cloud+ storage ID. Then I think it shows 4TB. Would need someone to clearly show screenshots or details on which ID they use for which to confirm but I tried all combinations and that is my conclusion so far.

 

[webkit]

Services profit appears to be far beyond any hardware they sell... and is the profit that keeps on giving.

Far beyond? The iPhone (alone) still generates more profit. It's also worth noting that about 25% or more of Apple's services profit comes from Google's search default payment. If that were to go away, depending on how the DOJ case against Google plays out, it would be a notable hit on services profits.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

It’s a disgusting move by apple. They know their users are cornered into paying for more data.

It’s extremely difficult to have multiple deviices and not exceed 5 gb.

Someone needs to investigate.

As in all such things, rather than hoping someone else will do something about it, take action yourself to fix any such problems as soon as today.

Nobody must use iCloud. One could flip all of the iCloud toggles off to stop using the many services that are on by default if they like. It was not that many years ago that there was no iCloud at all. Everyone with multiple devices got by just fine without it. Some of what it does for us now was simply handled in other ways (at $0 subscription cost).

Anyone with multiple devices with which they want/need to sync some stuff easily can put up their own cloud with a relatively inexpensive NAS and use it for the bigger stuff (videos, photos, music). Owning your own cloud means you can charge yourself $0/month for whatever amount of cloud storage you want/need. Connect anyone else to segments of that same cloud too and/or share the whole space with them.

For the small stuff (generally notes, keychain, Safari bookmarks, voice memos, etc) use a bit of the free 5GB. If you purge mail and text messages already read vs. letting them pile up to endless clutter, those bigger iCloud hogs can easily fit within the free 5GB too.

Just crack open the bar that shows iCloud usage and click the "manage" button next to it to see exactly what is eating up iCloud data. Then work that list to purge some of that OFF of iCloud (or thin it down). Once you figure out how to manage the stuff that tends to eat up most of the space, you find that you can use very little cloud while still enjoying the free chunk for simple syncs across devices.

Again, it was not that long ago that there was no iCloud. People managed to cover many things iCloud does now back then. Much of the same will work just as well now. It just requires personal ACTION to make it happen... not waiting on someone else to possibly do something about it.

 

[jav6454]

One thing they don't advertise too loudly is if you order a new phone from Apple they temporarily give you extra storage to save a backup of your current phone which you can restore on your new phone. I thought the bonus storage during migration was a nice gesture.

They do advertise it; just not as one might expect. In fact, it is openly displayed in the Settings app. I also think doing that is a nice gesture.

 

[Moi Ici]

Hate it too and I tried this morning but it only seem to work if you use the purchase IS as your apple one premier / cloud+ storage ID. Then I think it shows 4TB. Would need someone to clearly show screenshots or details on which ID they use for which to confirm but I tried all combinations and that is my conclusion so far.

Tried to see if I could downgrade from the 2tb iCloud purchase and it seems to want to delete my original 2tb from Apple one -I’ve used 1.8 tb of that So now I’m stuck paying $10 for nothing.

 

[Chargr]

I’m likely just going to setup a NAS and backup my data after my 200gb limit reaches. No way I’m paying that price

 

[ignatius345]

A couple of reasons - mainly the family sharing and second, 4k @ 60 FPS for family videos and mass photos, etc. including dogs.

This is a sneaky reason they keep cranking away on those iPhone cameras -- so people will accumulate loads of huge files they are sentimentally attached to.

I personally choose to shoot casual family videos in 1080p @ 30 fps for sanity, and I try (try) to go back and edit down photos and videos to keep everything from blowing up my hard drive and cloud storage.

 

[Paradoxally]

I suppose it isn't clear to a lot of people who frequent this site. So I'll clarify.

Apple is a private, for-profit company. They are in business to make money. They are not a government agency. They don't give things away for free. They aren't tricking you into buying anything. You aren't even required to own any Apple products. Your involvement with Apple is entirely voluntary. You have a lot of computing and mobile options that you can use that aren't Apple products. If you don't find value in Apple products, don't buy them.

Also, if you prefer that Apple operates in a different manner, you can become a shareholder. You can invest in Apple stock and then you can vote on various aspects of the way Apple operates.

Just to clear that up for several people on this forum.

This patronizing "no one can criticize Apple" stance is not helpful nor productive.

The whole point of forums is to discuss Apple's business decisions, apart from helping others with technical issues. If you do not wish to participate in that, perhaps your time is better spent with other things.

 

[nutmac]

Is then 4TB shared between the all Family members or not?

iCloud+ 200GB and up are shared between family members. You can optionally exclude certain family members though.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

This is a sneaky reason they keep cranking away on those iPhone cameras -- so people will accumulate loads of huge files they are sentimentally attached to.

I personally choose to shoot casual family videos in 1080p @ 30 fps for sanity, and I try (try) to go back and edit down photos and videos to keep everything from blowing up my hard drive and cloud storage.

My advice is to shoot home movies at highest resolution option you can as you won't be able to come back later to re-capture them when even 4K is considered inferior/blurry. Dump the footage to cheap & big HDDs. Edit it and dump the scraps/rejected clips that you'll never want to see again. Then render the best resolution copy with desired level of compression as a master file for long-term storage... and- in support of the data miser concept today- perhaps a 1080p/30fps for your iDevice too.

Then you can enjoy not using much space on today's iDevice WITHOUT any future regrets wishing you would have captured old 2023-24 moments in better resolution.

I have quite the collection of family home movies dating way back into the past. Most were shot on the best equip available to consumers, which unfortunately means old standards look pretty poor on modern screens. I would pay a lot to send today's cameras back to those points in time to get a good 4K version of all of that footage. Since I presume the next generation would feel the same about the quality we can shoot today on future screens, I generally shoot all at highest resolution available. Hard drives are cheap and can HOLD a lot of 4K video, especially edited & rendered H.265 after jettisoning the bits not worth keeping.

Nobody feels much about this in the present. It's in the future where it will increasingly matter.

 

[Moi Ici]

So to add insult to injury, it seems my iCloud is now full! This is after adding 2tb and having 200gb left of original 2tb.

 

[mrow]

Just signed up for the 6TB

Edit: I then downgraded my Apple One Premier to the individual, so $32.95 - $16.95 = $16.00. So I pay slightly more for the storage, from $9.99 a month for 2TB and $32.95 a month for the apple one premier, to now $16.95 a month for apple one individual and $29.99 a month for 6TB, give me a net increase in price per month of 4 dollars. I currently have 6.05TB total space, using 3.8~TB.

I’m really hoping Apple will do the sensible thing here and let you pick 2, 6, or 12 storage tiers for Apple One.

 

[ignatius345]

My advice is to shoot home movies at highest resolution option you can as you won't be able to come back later to re-capture them when even 4K is considered inferior/blurry.

I've got family videos from the early 2000s shot with my old Canon ELPH pocket camera in like 480p and I absolutely love them. I'm not gonna give a crap if shots of my kid are "only" in 1080p, I promise you.

 

[370zulu]

It's always a debate until data is lost and not recoverable.

 

[webkit]

Buyers have options.

Just because "buyers have options" doesn't mean they have to like/accept everything a particular company does with its product(s) nor does it negate antitrust laws.

There were options in desktop operating systems in the 1990s including Windows, Mac OS, OS/2, Linux, BeOS, etc. Does that mean businesses and consumers had no right to complain about Windows (or any other OS) and there shouldn't have been any antitrust lawsuits against Microsoft regarding Windows because there were options?

There are options today in search including Google, Bing, DDG, Brave Search, etc. Does that mean businesses and consumers have no right to complain about Google (or any other search) and there should be no antitrust lawsuits allowed against Google search because there are options?

 

[eas]

Calculate a few years vs.- say- buying the same storage in a couple of HDDs. Hint: 12TB HDD is retailing below $100 right now and you could OWN that 12TB instead of forever renting it.

1) Where can you buy a 12TB HDD at retail for below $100 right now.
2) Hard disks don't last forever and you should plan on rolling over hard disks that you have powered on for new ones periodically.

I have ~20TB of raw storage spinning away in my closet. I have 2TB of iCloud storage that's about half used. I can't imagine that I'll be a customer for one of these higher tiers.

Lets not pretend that managed cloud storage and a hard disk in your closet are equal. The storage in my closet takes more thought and attention just to prepare and maintain and in many ways delivers less utility than the iCloud storage, which is basically available on any of my devices as long as they have an internet connection.

None of which is to say that I don't think Apple charges too much for storage in the cloud and on device.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

1) Amazon has several 12TB HDDs for under $100 right now. One might be able to do better by shopping around to some other online retailers too.

2) Yes, but they are generally good for individual-level use for 5-10 or more years. I've got a few that are towards 20 years old and will fire right up and are usable. If we want to be very pessimistic, let's give the purchase ONLY 5 years before we have to replace it. My guess is 12TB HDD will be down at about the iCloud 12TB monthly price in 5 years, so spend one month of iCloud rent to own the same capacity for the next 5-10 or more years.

One hard disk in a closet is certainly not the same as managed cloud storage. If someone wants to really pinch pennies, they should buy 2 of those 12TB drives, make both Time Machine drives and store one of them offsite. Regularly rotate offsite with onsite so offsite disc is always reasonably up to date. Total budget for this might go towards about 4 months of renting 12TB in iCloud. This should work well for 5-10 or more years instead of only 4 months.

But if one wants cloud, buy a nice NAS like a Synology for maybe about 10-12 months of iCloud rent, use the wizard to create your own Cloud of any size for $0/month subscription and enjoy a free cloud for the next 5-10 or more years... as opposed to paying $60/month for those 5-10 years (math definitely worth "what if"ing out to rationalize the option).

I've been doing exactly that for the last 10 years. It took about 30 minutes to set up with the Synology wizard all those years ago. I've had ONE drive in the set conk in those 10 years- which doesn't interrupt use (just needs to be replaced)- and replaced it with a bigger one to expand the storage pool. $0/month subscription cost and the Synology can also do a bunch of other things for me too... like a network based Time Machine backup for all Macs in the house, a whole house DVR for all AppleTVs in the house, etc.

BEST (general) OPTION: Synology or similar NAS for $0/month cloud + TWO 12TB or larger drives set up as Time Machine drives, with one always stored offsite. Regularly rotate offsite one with onsite one so a complete backup offsite is pretty fresh. I store my offsite in a safe deposit box at my bank for $35/yr but could easily store it in a variety of free places if I preferred (friends place, family, work, gym locker, etc).

The extra two HDDs protect against fire/flood/theft risk at home, losing both Mac + Synology unit at the same time.

Again, at $60/month even against this best option, it doesn't take very long for the total cost of rent to exceed the total cost of owning... and afterwards the owner keeps enjoying their cloud plus very secure backup system while the renter just keeps paying & paying & paying. Do the math for 5 years, 7 years, 10 years and the difference is several new iPhones and/or Macs.

 

[zbugrkx]

So to add insult to injury, it seems my iCloud is now full! This is after adding 2tb and having 200gb left of original 2tb.

Yep, to us with 2 ID's, your only solution if you want the "secret" 4TB is that you are using your purchase ID as you're storage ID. The other way around will just net you 2 x 2TB