Google may be about to make some significant changes to its cloud storage offering, if recent alterations to its website are anything to go by.
Reports have claimed that one of its most popular Google One plans has apparently disappeared from the company's website, with different default offerings appearing in its place.
This could be users are forced to compromise when signing up for Google One cloud storage, having to choose less (or more) capacity than they want or need, or facing paying more for extra storage that never gets used.
Google One plans
The change was first spotted by Google Watch Blog, which noted that when users visit the Google One signup page, they are now presented with three options, rather than the previous four.
Alongside the default 15GB storage package, potential customers are offered a choice between the "Basic" 100GB plan, costing $1.99 per month and the "Premium" 2TB offering, costing $9.99 per month.
Previously, there had been an option for 200GB, costing $2.99 per month - but this is no longer being shown.
We've replicated this change on our own devices - however, the 200GB option does still appear to be available, with users able to upgrade or downgrade to this package once they have signed up for any of the other tiers.
Google told 9to5Google that the 200GB plan is still available, and that it will still be provided as an option to those already subscribed to the 100GB plan, but its exact motivation in hiding the option is somewhat of a puzzle.
It could be that the company is looking to push signups to its Premium 2TB offering, which comes with Gemini Advanced - Google's latest flagship AI platform, which it is keen to promote to as many customers as possible.
Described by the company as the "most capable" version of its Gemini model, known as Ultra 1.0, Gemini Advanced offers "state-of-the-art performance" that's capable of handling "highly complex tasks" – tasks that can involve text, images, and code.
