Google Drive's new plans bring family sharing and more options
Google One might give you a better reason to ditch the free tier.
You probably haven't had a huge reason to upgrade from Google Drive's free 15GB service, but Google thinks it can sway you with the right incentives. It's launching a new set of plans, nicknamed Google One, that give you considerably more than extra capacity. There's now a family sharing option similar to services like iCloud, for starters -- up to six family members can share a plan, each with their own private storage areas. Google is promising better support as well, with "one-tap" access to experts for Drive and other services. Previously, you needed a G Suite business account to get that kind of live help.
If you're just interested in getting more storage for the money, don't worry -- you'll find some new storage choices as well. Google has added a new 200GB plan for $3 per month, and the 2TB plan is down to $10 per month from the earlier $20. Existing tiers are still hanging around and range from 100GB for $2 per month to a hefty 30TB for $300 per month.
As to when you'll get One? If you already have a paid Drive account in the US, the perks will automatically apply to your account in the "coming months." Users in other countries will have to wait until later in the year. This will still make the most sense if you crave more storage above all else (say, to hold 4K videos), but you now have a few clear reasons to splurge even if your current capacity does the trick.
