Google One launches in US, offers new, cheaper cloud storage
What's the story
For reasons as yet unknown, Google is rebranding its Google Drive storage plans as Google One, and has introduced newer, cheaper cloud storage plans for its customers, marking the first price cut in its cloud storage service in over four years. The new, revamped Google One service has already launched in the US, and is headed to other countries fairly soon. Here's more.
New plans
Cloud storage plan pricing on Google One
While Google One's starting cloud storage plan is identical to Google Drive's i.e. $1.99 per month for 100GB, One offers cheaper plans afterwards. In Google One, a $2.99 per month plan for 200GB has been introduced, while the $9.99 per month plan has been upgraded to provide 2TB of storage instead of 1TB. 10TB, 20TB, and 30TB plans are available for $99.99 to $299.99
Sharing
It seems Google believes that sharing is caring
Google has also added support for storage plans to be shared with up to five family members, which is a handy feature because in all likelihood you'll end up having excess storage space. In actuality, since Google doesn't check if email accounts added are of family members, the feature can also be used to share storage with friends and co-workers.
Other features
Other perks Google is offering to One users
Google has also added additional perks for Google One users, including a 24*7 live customer support for any Google product. Additionally, Google will also display deals on hotels when one searches for hotels on Google Maps. Google has also promised that it will offer all One members discounts on purchases made via the Google Store and Google Express.
Roll out
Roll out is expected soon, you can subscribe for updates
Over the past few weeks, Google has slowly rolled existing Google Drive users over to a Google One membership. Starting August 15, however, new users in the US were given the option for directly signing up for a Google One subscription. While there's no official timeline, a roll out is expected in other countries soon, and you can subscribe with your email for updates.