How do I calculate iCloud storage needs for multiple devices?

[wlow3]

I have an iMac, a MacBook Pro, an iPad and an iPhone. Till now I’ve done backups locally but with the added stuff coming to iCloud plus I may just bite the bullet and get it.

But how do I figure out what the real storage needs of each device is?

Apps don’t count, right? Neither does the OS? Photos, music and books and videos only need one copy spread over all devices. So it should be a lot less for all than a what a full backup of, say, the iPhone to the Mac would indicate, right?

I think I might continue to do the iMac locally but do the iPad (128 gb) and iPhone (256 gb) plus sync photos to all devices. How do I figure whether the 200 gb iCloud is enough? Thanks.

 

[mmkerc]

It depends on what you are planning to use iCloud for. On my computer, all of my documents (Word, excel, powerpoint, pdfs) only total 2.3 GB, Music is 239GB, Movies total 317 GBs, 90,000+ photographs are 2.7TB. None of this includes apps or the OS. The only thing I store on iCloud are items I want access to from my computer, phone and iPad. With my family we have 57GB on iCloud. On my phone I am only using 65GB (inclusive of apps and iOS).

So the question is if you just want it for back up look under the General setting and see how much us you on each device. I would guess you would need more than 200GB. But if you want to backup just your phone and pad you are likely ok with 200GB.

 

[AdamNC]

You can not have to much storage.

 

[mk313]

You can see your iCloud storage status from any of your devices. I'd start with the free tier, and see when that fills up, upgrade to the next tier, and then the next tier when need be. If it fill sup, then you can pay for more.

for my uses, the 50 gb was fine until finally my photos/videos exceeded that. At that point, Apple had the thing where family members could share storage, so I split the highest tier with my wife & we are no where near close to the limit (We still have over 1.5 TB of storage space left)

You'll probably need less storage than you think, as you only need to save your photos, etc one time for all devices.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Manage your iCloud storage - Apple Support

Free up space in iCloud storage.

support.apple.com

What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support

iCloud Backup helps keep your data safe by making a copy of the information on your iPhone and iPad that isn't already synced to iCloud.

support.apple.com

Here’s what iCloud Backup includes​

• App data
• Apple Watch backups (1)
• Device settings
• Home screen and app organization
• iMessage, text (SMS), and MMS messages (2)
• Photos and videos on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch (2)
• Purchase history from Apple services, like your music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books (3)
• Ringtones
• Visual Voicemail password (requires the SIM card that was in use during backup)

Your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch backups only include information and settings stored on your device. They do not include information already stored in iCloud such as Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, Notes, Reminders, Voice Memos4, Messages in iCloud, iCloud Photos, and shared photos. Some information is not included in an iCloud backup but can be added to iCloud and shared across multiple devices like Mail, Health data, call history, and files you store in iCloud Drive.

1. If you use an Apple Watch with Family Setup, your Apple Watch isn't included in the backup of an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
2. When you use Messages in iCloud or turn on iCloud Photos, your content is automatically stored in iCloud. That means that they're not included in your iCloud Backup.
3. Your iCloud Backup includes information about the content you buy, but not the content itself. When you restore from an iCloud backup, your purchased content is automatically redownloaded from the iTunes Store, App Store, or Books Store. Some types of content aren’t downloaded automatically in all countries or regions. Previous purchases might be unavailable if they've been refunded or aren't available in the store. Find out what you can redownload and buy in your country or region.
4. If you use iOS 11 or earlier, Voice Memos are included in iCloud Backup.

 

[senttoschool]

You can not have to much storage.

Yes you can. Storage is not free - both in terms of money and planet resources. If you don't think you'll need more storage, you should buy less. And you can always delete things to free up more storage.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

 

[AdamNC]

Yes you can. Storage is not free - both in terms of money and planet resources. If you don't think you'll need more storage, you should buy less. And you can always delete things to free up more storage.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

Planet resources???? WTF?