Joe Maring / Android Authority
Google One is my most confusing and, honestly, wasteful subscription right now. While it starts at just $1.99/month for 100GB storage, things get extremely messy and unfair if you subscribe to anything including and above the $9.99/month 2TB Premium plan. What started as a simple way to get extra cloud storage and some benefits has morphed into a Frankenstein bundle of AI perks no one asked for, leaving users like me wondering what we’re actually paying for. The reality is that Google is pushing its AI agenda on Google One subscribers, and it’s starting to really bother me.
I’m certainly not the only one feeling this. Reddit threads and our previous coverage show that users want simpler Google One plans. Many don’t care about Google’s AI features. They just want more storage, ad-free YouTube, and in some cases, fitness tracking, and smart home monitoring — essentially, the things they’re already paying for separately.
Google One plans should offer more value to users who are not too keen on AI tools.
In the UK, Google One users at least get some added perks with the 2TB Premium plan that includes Nest Aware and Fitbit Premium for free.
In the US and other regions, it’s chaos. YouTube Premium is a discount or add-on on some plans and is only free in the highest-tier $250/month AI Ultra plan, a level most regular users would never touch. Meanwhile, Nest Aware and Fitbit Premium are completely absent from Google One offerings outside of the UK.
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The fact that Google One plans vary so much across regions is also pretty annoying. While I understand it’s Google’s prerogative to design its subscription plans in a way that makes business sense for the company, I feel these plans can definitely become simpler and offer more value to users who are not too keen on trying out every generative AI tool in Google’s arsenal.
My ideal Google One plan Here’s my ideal Google One plan, one that would cover the additional storage I want and also include subscriptions I actually care to use. Now, I know it might sound too generous and possibly unrealistic, but if Apple can offer similar deals, Google can certainly do it.
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