We should have 10Gb of free iCloud storage.

Apple have quietly added a tier to their iCloud storage options, 2Tb. It makes sense I guess with the possibility of setting the base level iPhone at 32Gb and some suggesting that a 256GB iPhone may appear to join the 256GB iPad Pro. Not to mention the new feature of macOS Sierra that lets you store your Documents and Desktop folders in iCloud, to be synced between all your Macs. With people generating more and more data and (wisely) backing it up the bottom tier of 5Gb free looks pretty paltry. After all I'm sure that the revenue generated by iCloud storage doesn't amount to anything significant for Apple why not allow us low level users access to a bit more for free.
Personally I use iCloud Keychain, iCloud Drive (to sync my Password manager), Mail (which I don't use), Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Notes and the essential Find My iPhone. The whole lot only uses 1.5 Gb but I would use a lot more if it was free. If I add iCloud Photo Library for example I am well, close the limit. I used to use it but I got sick of being constantly bugged by messages that I'm almost out of space to store my backup, along with a threatening dialogue box encouraging me to upgrade my storage plan or I won't be able to use my iCloud email service. In fact given that I have 64Gb storage on my iPhone 5s it might not be unreasonable to expect a base level of 25Gb.

Rod,

I'm with you on this. The base storage of the i-devices has gone from 4G all the way up to 32G with stops along the way at 8G and 16G. The top-end devices are now capable of 256G of storage.

iCloud now supports Mail, photo libraries, photo stream, device backup (up to the full storage of the device), Documents (drive), iBook storage and sync, Safari history/shortcut/site credential sync, and is being used much more today by users (like myself) with multiple devices (so, backup needs have at least doubled). They keep adding new things that use iCloud and yet the base (free) account is still 5G and "that's it". Anything beyond requires you to pay and I flat-out will not do it. I have enough money invested into the products themselves (an iMac, a MacBook Air, iPad Pro 12.9", iPhone 6S+, Apple Watch) - there's no way I'm giving them more money on a recurring basis in order to be able to safely and properly USE those devices that I have already overpaid for.

I have taken to doing things like NOT using the Photo Albums portion of iCloud, backing up my Photos regularly only to my Google Account, regularly purging attachments from iMessage conversations, not backing up my mail client (why would I? All this is is a copy of the mail that stays on my provider's server anyhow), and a variety of other things in order to ensure that I don't go over my space allotment in iCloud.

I think it is absolutely ridiculous that A) Apple hasn't made a change to the base account size in .... forever? and B) NO ONE is publicly calling on Apple to do something about this.

I did post my comments here; https://www.apple.com/support/feedback/ for what ever good it may do.

I'd like to see the Tech rags take them to task on it instead of just being Apple Fan Boys and gushing about the devices all of the time.

they should allow you free space at least with how many devices you have ;D

iajohnston said:

they should allow you free space at least with how many devices you have ;D

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What does Apple do when you sell a device or it dies?

And.. there are plenty of other free cloud choices. You don't have to use iCloud. ;D

iajohnston said:

they should allow you free space at least with how many devices you have ;D

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Interesting idea...

How about each device gets "free space" in the cloud for a basic backup of the device? CONTENT would require additional space... Anything purchased through iTunes doesn't need to be backed up (and isn't backed up today, at least as far as Apps go). Music doesn't need to be backed up because it either came as an iTunes purchase or was sync'ed to the device via iTunes on a computer (meaning there's already a copy someplace). Mail doesn't need to be backed up because it's stored on a server already.

Photos, videos, messages, personalization settings, app-specific content (high scores, favorites, etc.)... Those need to be backed up. So, give me enough space in the cloud to store the base-level backup of the device with anything device-specific for settings or personalization. Then, give me a set amount of space to backup up personal (non device-related) content. And give me basic settings in the device's "Settings" to control these sort of things still.

chscag said:

And.. there are plenty of other free cloud choices. You don't have to use iCloud. ;D

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Actually, you do for some of the features. There is no secondary way to sync photos like the My Photo Stream service, no other way to sync iBooks, no other way to sync user/pass info for Safari, no other way to sync WiFi network information with passwords, etc.

I do use Google Photos to ensure that I have long-term backup of all of my photos, even if the sizes get reduced (the quality is still fine for long-term). Anything that I need to ensure is backed up in full quality I send to myself as an email.

For syncing, I agree that iCloud is needed. I use it myself to sync between my iPhones and iMac. However, when speaking of pure storage as Rod was, there are plenty of other choices.

How about each device gets "free space" in the cloud for a basic backup of the device? CONTENT would require additional space.

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Actually, this is pretty close to what they have now. Versions you have previously downloaded of OS X are still available for download, so your Mac can be re-established. Ditto for iPhone and iPad. iOS is available to be installed, not that you ever actually wipe it clean like you might OS X, but you can factory reset a clean iOS through iTunes. So, theoretically, all you HAVE to put in YOUR iCloud space is your data. Basically, you have what you asked for today.

While I agree that the iOS itself is not being stored, it seems that the space that's being consumed is very "all or nothing" and it's up to the end user to muddle through the settings to achieve different levels of backup type.

A "basic" backup would include things like your mail accounts, iMessage information, iCloud account name, layout on the home screen of your various apps, WiFi networks, and the like. You can't achieve this type of backup without turning off the backup of all of the various apps, and for devices with a lot of apps, that can take a while. Additionally, new apps that are added are set to "enabled" for backup, so it's up to the user to remember to turn it off. Having choices like "basic backup" would allow me to know that my device's settings and configuration items are being stored WITHOUT unnecessarily enabling backup for every new app I install. Maybe a choice at installation time or first launch that says "Should this application's data be backed up to iCloud?" could be added for better management of storage.

So, while I follow and agree with what you're saying, my comment was geared more toward being able to easily ACHIEVE that basic backup mode instead of the all or nothing mode that are my only two quick options.

I am sure Cook won't do this when he is in charge.

Nothing per se. The space you use is related to your iCloud account. You can go in an see the backups etc that are there and delete old ones etc.

The difficulty with this approach is communicating what is or isn't included in a 'Basic' backup. There's also huge differences in what people would expect from 'basic'. For me a basic backup covers anything that can't be replaced easily - photos, videos, save data from appa, iMessages etc.
Most of the support issues I deal with are people concerned with their Photos and Videos. They aren't bothered about email, app layouts and the like. Many of them don't even think about backup until it's too late.

I think the only solution is to have sufficient space from the start and for backup preferences to be more visible in the initial setup of the device.

I would expect to see Apple increase the amount of base level iCloud storage before long, perhaps along with the rumoured Apple Music price drops. They are re-structuring their web services resoucing and locations to bring them all together. They appear to be making moves to focus more on services..... better late than never..... but I'd expect to see a number of changes over the next few months.

mrplow said:

The difficulty with this approach is communicating what is or isn't included in a 'Basic' backup. There's also huge differences in what people would expect from 'basic'. For me a basic backup covers anything that can't be replaced easily - photos, videos, save data from appa, iMessages etc.
Most of the support issues I deal with are people concerned with their Photos and Videos. They aren't bothered about email, app layouts and the like. Many of them don't even think about backup until it's too late.

I think the only solution is to have sufficient space from the start and for backup preferences to be more visible in the initial setup of the device.

I would expect to see Apple increase the amount of base level iCloud storage before long, perhaps along with the rumoured Apple Music price drops. They are re-structuring their web services resoucing and locations to bring them all together. They appear to be making moves to focus more on services..... better late than never..... but I'd expect to see a number of changes over the next few months.

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IMHO, it doesn't matter what you, I, or anyone else considers basic because Apple does what the **** they want anyway. What matters is creating a couple of different backup configurations that can be used by default, explaining what they each do and don't include, and giving the users ways to leverage them.

Apple is greedy and drops prices on pretty much NOTHING. I don't see them increasing storage at the free tier. Doing so would cut permanently into their revenue stream.

It will be interesting to see how the sales of iPhone 7 are, and how they continue. If the phone is as sorely disappointing as it seems to me on the surface, sales will likely drop way off and stay that way unless Apple drops the price or offers some sort of valuable add-on. I have zero intention of buying a 7 or any other Apple phone ever unless there's a headphone jack. Apple has made how I use my phone impossible with the 7. I've already got a nice Galaxy Note that I am considering swapping to and being done with the Apple iPhone stuff once and for call (although I'll keep my iMac and MBA).

Most sucessful companies do what they want. Moreover they do what they believe will forward the business and hopefully turn a profit. I wouldn't expect anything more or less from any company. I'm constantly suprised that people think Apple should be any different.

We could debate what has and hasn't had price drops or the fine line between greedy and a commercially successful business. But as we seem to have switched from cloud storage to headphone jacks I'm guessing that's not really what you're interested in. I agree, it will be interesting to see iPhone 7 sales figures. While there have been other phones drop the 3.5mm jack the iPhone 7 does seem to have brought the subject to the top of the clickbait list for many a tech site and I'm sure it's upset a number of users. But Apple aren't stupid, they are a business. If iPhone 7 sales are that poor and it's attributable to the jack, it'll come back (no doubt fresh and re-invented). But I'll be suprised if that's the case. Only time will tell I guess.

I was going to ask about the backup options Samsung offer (Only have experience of Sony and Huawei Android phones for work - no cloud allowed). But I don't want to inflame the iOSvsAndroid debate.

Let's just see where the cloud storage issue goes. Meet back here in March?

I've already got a nice Galaxy Note that I am considering swapping to and being done with the Apple iPhone stuff once and for call (although I'll keep my iMac and MBA).

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Well I suppose you can be one star for Samsung after their disastrous fiasco with certain of their phones catching fire. As for me, I could care less if my iPhone has a headphone jack or not since I do not use it to listen to music; that's what my stereo at home is for or my car radio if I'm on the road. Good luck with your decision.

chscag said:

And.. there are plenty of other free cloud choices. You don't have to use iCloud. ;D

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can you, please, specify them...I recently got the message at my iPhone that the storage is running out, so, i need to free it... almost all are photos

Apart from iCloud there is Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Mega, Box etc. but it's a little more complicated than that. You have to be able to access the files and the service needs to be compatible with the apps you are using it with. See; https://www.thebalance.com/a-compar...eeae965b-8d31-473e-802a-bfb41a9836b5-0-ab_msb
GoogleDrive for example has an iPhone app and offers free 15Gb of storage for photos, movies and other files.
DropBox offers 2-16Gb and OneDrive 15Gb
See; https://www.imobie.com/support/icloud-alternatives.htm

BUT why not just download them to your computer and switch off iCloud Photo Library? I don't use it myself but, I do use My Photo Stream to ensure my pics are downloaded to my MBP then I delete them from the phone. You will need to switch it off in Settings > Photos and Camera on your iPhone and also on the device you sync to in iCloud Preferences > Photos.