iCloud users can now access up to 2TB of storage, as Apple just added a new tier that provides 2TB for $19.99 per month.
As a refresher, iCloud storage can be used by Mac and iOS users to store and sync photos and videos, documents, device backups, music, emails and more between their devices.
Apple also offers a Dropbox-like service called iCloud Drive which uses also iCloud storage, and lets you sync any document between your iOS device, Mac, or PC. Since Apple is getting ready to release macOS Sierra with built-in Drive support, they probably added this new 2TB option assuming that bringing iCloud Drive to the desktop will result in some users wanting to sync more than 1TB of data.
Plus, this increased storage option may also lend credibility to the rumor that Apple may soon release a new iPhone with 256GB of storage. Before this increase to 2TB, backing up a iPhone with 256GB of storage to iCloud could have potentially forced a user to bump up against his 1TB storage limit.
This 2TB option joins iCloud’s existing 5GB free tier, 50GB tier at $0.99 per month, 200GB tier at $2.99 per month, and 1TB tier at $9.99 per month.
In terms of price, Apple’s offering is pretty on par with competing services. Google Drive also offers 1TB for $9.99 per month (but then nothing until 10TB for $99.99 per month) while Microsoft offers 1TB for $6.99 per month as part of an office 365 subscription. Dropbox also offers 1TB for $9.99 per month.
Since pricing is essentially identical across platforms, the decision really comes down to convenience for users and what platform will most easily work between all of their devices. With these increased storage options and the upcoming integration of iCloud Drive into macOS, Apple may have finally build an iCloud-based storage option that is good enough for iOS and mac users to ditch their Dropbox or Google Drive subscriptions and commit to iCloud.