Apple One Escaping Apple Services

[rillrill]

Hey ya’ll. I’ve been trying to escape from iCloud and Apple services for a few months and have had a few issues - mostly getting the SO on board. We are currently on the Apple one premier plan - $30 a month. It’s adding up and we aren’t really using much of it. The two big ones are Apple Music and 2TB of iCloud. The iCloud is mostly photos. Apple Music is used for the kids - but mostly the same YouTube songs.

I have a YouTube premium family plan that doesn’t cost nearly as much and is used way more. It comes with YouTube music - so that’ll nix AM.
The big question is iCloud. Anyone else just sync their photos to their Mac?

anyone just get rid of all Apple services? I feel like Apple’s tentacles are too overreaching these days. Maybe I just need to rip the bandaid off.

 

[0128672]

You can definitely sync your photos to your Mac, and back up your devices to your Mac as well. Maybe try doing it that way for a week to see how it feels.

 

[glenthompson]

Which Apple services does your family really like? That could be a determining factor. We need the 2TB iCloud and really like TV+ and News+. Those alone just about pays for the Premier subscription. If there’s something your SO can’t live without you could always go a la carte on just that one subscription.

 

[FH333]

Which Apple services does your family really like? That could be a determining factor. We need the 2TB iCloud and really like TV+ and News+. Those alone just about pays for the Premier subscription. If there’s something your SO can’t live without you could always go a la carte on just that one subscription.

I mean, you could always get an android phoneLOL, JK.

 

[fwmireault]

The deeply integrated ecosystem can definitely be overwhelming, I understand that. But I don’t think that it is about escaping apple services in general, it’s more about subscribing to the services that you find useful. Definitely, you don’t use Apple services that much, so the 30$ a month Apple One premier is way too much for your needs. I would say that if iCloud is useful for you at the moment, keep it, it can be more conveniant compared to other workarounds and the service is pretty cheap.

 

[darngooddesign]

The big question is iCloud. Anyone else just sync their photos to their Mac?

Easy to do assuming you are willing to manually manage your photo library.

 

[Expos of 1969]

I mean, you could always get an android phoneLOL, JK.

That is seriously an excellent suggestion. I did so 2 years ago and am very pleased.

 

[rillrill]

Thanks for the responses! Yes. Other than AM and iCloud, the other Apple services are just a nice to have. News and Apple Arcade are the least used. I was the only one trying Apple fitness. Apple TV is nice but could probably be subscribed to every once and a while to catch up on some of the shows.

I think keeping iCloud with YouTube Premium Family is probably a good combo until I see my
Comfort level of manually backing up the photos.

 

[Eric Idle]

Why the heck don't you just buy an iCloud subscription? Seems pretty simple.

 

[rillrill]

Yeah. It is simple, except I would love not paying for any of it. I’ve just been throwing money at the problem. But maybe backing up photos once a month is doable and I’ll save the $10.
Anyone not use iCloud photos and back up manually?

 

[darngooddesign]

Anyone not use iCloud photos and back up manually?

Since iPhoto days. Its easy for me because I never got in the lazy habit of leaving everything in my camera roll; I use tags, albums, smart albums, favorites, etc. So you'll have to spend more time importing to the Photos app and then syncing back to your devices, but that's just required when you dont let the cloud manage something for you.

 

[rillrill]

Yeah. I have a 2 to ssd for a backup + iCloud. It’s just my wife that doesn’t clean out her photos. I’m hoping that the ssd is enough.

 

[glenthompson]

Anyone not use iCloud photos and back up manually?

I did back in the iPhoto and Aperture days. Having all my photos on all my devices is worth the cost of the iCloud subscription.