Do you love Apple products?
Indeed, every other person loves Apple products, but what is the issue you often face?
Yes, it’s storage!
With the older versions of Android and Apple devices, limited physical storage capability was common. The issue was resolved by introducing cloud storage and drive storage in the market.
However, Apple users still face an issue as a 5GB cloud storage is given by default. If you want to keep all your data in cloud storage, it can become hard to manage with 5GB.
We understand the frustration of those popping-up notifications telling you iCloud storage is full! Every Apple product user faces this issue at some point, and this notification keeps on coming again and again.
The real question to ask is,
Is it worth upgrading iCloud +] storage beyond the basic free 5GB storage that comes with your device?
This article will help you decide if you are at the point where upgrading iCloud storage is necessary or if this upgrade is worth it. So let’s get into it.
What Is iCloud storage?
iCloud storage is what you get when signing up for Apple Cloud. It is the amount of storage space available to store files, create backups, and access your files across all devices.
In 2021, having cloud storage is otherwise a necessity. Either you want to access your Mail, Notes, Contacts, Calendars, Messages, Passwords, or whatnot.
iCloud storage lets you store files and folders or access apps and allows you to create an emergency backup of your entire iPhone, Mac, iPad, etc.
In short, you can access your entire digital life by just logging into your Apple ID on any device.
Why Your iCloud Storage Is Full?
You might wonder why your iCloud storage is full when you haven’t stored a lot of data. Many times, it gets full without your realization.
If you’ve any of these concerns, you need to know that your iCloud storage is used for storing files and backups your iPhone or iPad. Imagine backing up your entire photo library to your iCloud account!
Some of the data that you can sync to iCloud includes:
- Photos
- Videos
- iPhone/iPad Backups
- Contacts
- Calendars
- Files
- Photos
- Notes
- Safari data (bookmarks, reading lists, and passwords)
How To Manage Your iCloud Storage?
Before we tell you if you should upgrade your iCloud storage or not, here is our take on effectively managing your iCloud storage and drive.
Managing your iCloud storage is very simple and convenient. You can directly manage your iCloud storage from your iPhone. All you have to do is go to your phone’s settings and choose iCloud and manage storage.
Your cloud storage management windows show a snapshot of what is taking most of your storage. Most commonly, your photos and backups consume most of the storage space.
You can also check how much storage each application on your iPhone is consuming.
You can also delete unnecessary files, folders, and images from your iCloud storage. You can delay the storage upgrade if you know how to manage your iCloud storage effectively.
Here is what you can do to empty up space for new files:
- Frequently clean up your photo library to delete unnecessary images or videos
- Deleting old backups of your Apple devices
- Delete obsolete files
- Cleaning up unused app data, text messages, and trash items.
Why Should You Delete Old iCloud Backups?
Your iCloud backups include the following data and files:
- Apple watch backups
- Apps data
- Photos, videos, etc., from your Apple devices(iPhone, iPad, iPod)
- Ringtones
- Device settings
- iMessage, text, MMS messages
- Visual Voicemail password
- Home screen and app organization
As you can see that your iPhone backups are taking plenty of storage on your phone, it is wise to keep deleting older backups.
It is indeed a useful feature, but it can become your baggage if not taken care of. You can save a lot of storage on your Apple devices by taking these small steps.
iCloud Backup, iCloud Storage, iCloud Drive Vs. iCloud Photo Library
We’ve already discussed a lot about iCloud backup. Let’s review each of the iCloud options and how they’re different.
iCloud backup stores your app data, photos, videos, text messages, visual voicemail passwords, device settings, ringtones, etc. It is an emergency backup of your iPhone if you lose it, sell it, or damage it.
You can retrieve the same settings and data on your new device with the iCloud Backup feature. Backup is a big file that restores your entire phone.
iCloud Photo Library is a wallet for keeping your photos and videos in iCloud. It is a great tool for accessing your photos from any device(Mac, iPad, iPhone, etc.).
Photo Library differs from backup in that the backup doesn’t let you access your individual photos and videos. In Photo Library, you can access photos and videos individually.
iCloud Drive is a new feature of Apple, and it works more like OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox. However, it is more like Apple Drive and integrated across Apple devices.
You can store anything you want to with your iCloud Drive, including photos, videos, documents, files, etc.
iCloud storage is the total amount of storage space available on your iCloud or Apple ID. iCloud Drive, Backup, Photo Library, etc., everything is taking up space from your iCloud storage.
There are many options to upgrade your iCloud storage to execute things freely.
iCloud Storage Pricing Explained
iCloud+ plans allow you to get premium features along with additional storage. iCloud+ is a premium cloud subscription, and Apple offers the following plans:
iCloud+ with 50GB Storage
You get the following features in the basic plan for 0.99 USD/month:
- 50GB storage
- Hide My Email
- You get a custom email domain
- HomeKit Secure Video support for the camera on one device
- iCloud Private Relay
iCloud+ with 200GB Storage
You get the following features in the second plan for 2.99 USD/month:
- 200GB storage
- Hide My Email
- You get a custom email domain
- HomeKit Secure Video support for five cameras
- iCloud Private Relay
iCloud+ with 2TB Storage
You get the following features in the third plan for 9.99 USD/month:
- 2TB storage
- Hide My Email
- You get a custom email domain
- HomeKit Secure Video support for an unlimited number of cameras
- iCloud Private Relay
Who Should Subscribe To iCloud storage?
You already know what iCloud+ storage plans will cost you. But you must know if it is worth upgrading and which plan you should go for.
Ask yourself some of the following questions:
- Running out of iCloud storage space due to your iPhone and iPad backups?
- Do you need storage for saving files, documents, etc.?
- Do you like to use the iCloud Photo Library for backing up your videos, pictures, etc.?
- Are you using iCloud on multiple devices?
If yes, then it is indeed time to upgrade your iCloud storage according to the requirements. If you need storage across multiple devices, 2TB storage is best for you.
Who doesn’t need iCloud storage?
Someone using iCloud storage for one device to back up the device can rely on the free option of iCloud. 5GB is not too much, but you can delay the upgrade for a while.
If you don’t want to upgrade storage for creating backups, another sustainable way is to back up your iPhone to your Mac.
Pros of iCloud Storage
Some of the best things about iCloud storage are as follows:
- An easy-to-use platform offering you cross-device accessibility
- You can signup for free iCloud with 5GB storage on your Apple device
- It doesn’t only work on Apple devices but also on Windows
- Let’s you create backups, and save files, videos, images, etc.
Cons of iCloud Storage
We felt a few things on the downside of iCloud storage. Here are the cons of iCloud storage:
- The free version doesn’t provide unlimited storage, and you will have to upgrade ultimately
- Android users cannot enjoy the perks of the iCloud application
- No search in the web interface of the iCloud storage
- No file versioning other than iWork documents
- Not as collaborative for editing compared to other drives
Final Verdict: Is iCloud Storage Subscription Worth It?
iCloud storage is indeed a worthy platform to subscribe to. You can get free from all the worries of always deleting unnecessary files to have spare storage.
You can either stay with the free version of iCloud or choose the paid version, depending on your requirements.
