So Apple announced its new iCloud pricing today, in advance of the forthcoming iCloud Drive. It costs more than its two main competitors, Dropbox (get some free storage by signing up via that link) and Google Drive.
1TB of iCloud storage is $20 per month ($240 a year). That’s cheaper than it was, but significantly more than Dropbox ($10 per month or only $100 for a year) and Google Drive ($10 per month or $120 per year). I have a 1TB plan from both Google Drive and Dropbox currently. Would I dump one in favor of a pricier iCloud plan?
Maybe. It depends, but only on one thing. The forthcoming new Apple Photos app.
Space is space, and no one should pay double or more for space at one trusted brand over another trusted brand (I love the cloud, but only at names I know and trust: names like Amazon, Apple, Box, Dropbox and Google).
But space to use along with a powerful app that solves a terrible problem? You bet. I’d happily switch to iCloud if the Photos app would:
1. Look and work elegantly, like most Apple apps (excluding iTunes, which is a bloated wreck).
2. Easily assimilate and combine my current iPhoto libraries, of which I have three because they do not sync between computers.
3. Thereafter automatically upload, sync and manage my photos from whatever Apple device they originate on.
Photo management is a mess currently. I love much about iPhoto, but the process of keeping your photos together in one place and managed logically is somewhere between burdensome and impossible.
If Apple can do that and combine it with some storage, I would gladly pay more for iCloud space.
If not, I’ll pass.
Newsome.Org 