whats cheaper? Local Storage or Cloud Storage on Apple

[Jet-Fighter7700]

so a buddy of mine has an Macbook air 13, 2017 model,
got the 128GB model, and I wanted to know whats more cheaper

cloud storage, or getting a bigger SSD?

I said SSD, but seeing as it needs to be cr***ed out of the great Core group in SA at least
and the margins and fees locally, might be more expensive,

whats is cheaper, uses the mac more for photos, and emails,

what works out cheaper?

 

[Rocket-Boy]

If it is for storing files that arent frequently used then an external drive should be fine.
Since Apple lost the plot with non-removable storage Im guessing it would cost many times more to get the drive upgraded.

 

[SauRoNZA]

If it is for storing files that arent frequently used then an external drive should be fine.
Since Apple lost the plot with non-removable storage Im guessing it would cost many times more to get the drive upgraded.

It’s actually removable depending on model but it’s proprietary and can’t just be generically acquired, so it’s a pain either way.

You do get some nice external storage options that sit flush with the USB-C port which is an option.

Personally would have bought a bigger one to start with, but otherwise iCloud is the way to go.

It’s pretty cheap especially if using other Apple services and taking the Apple One bundle.

 

[Mr Scratch]

If you have constant access to network iCloud works well enough to get by but 128GB is still low. I don't believe you can (easily) upgrade storage on a 2017 Air

EDIT: apparently you can for pretty cheap

 

[JohnStarr]

iCloud for portability especially if he has other Apple devices (iPad/iPhone), or something like a USB drive/NAS if he's not too interested in cloud storage.

 

[Hamster]

iCloud is "dirt" cheap to be honest. Depends on how you are going to use it but you can get 50GB for R15pm to 2TB for R150pm. Not exactly breaking the bank here.

 

[Spizz]

It’s actually removable depending on model but it’s proprietary and can’t just be generically acquired, so it’s a pain either way.

You do get some nice external storage options that sit flush with the USB-C port which is an option.

Personally would have bought a bigger one to start with, but otherwise iCloud is the way to go.

It’s pretty cheap especially if using other Apple services and taking the Apple One bundle.

@Hamish McPanji used an adaptor on this same model last year and and installed a normal 1TB m.2 SSD.

 

[Mr Scratch]

iCloud is "dirt" cheap to be honest. Depends on how you are going to use it but you can get 50GB for R15pm to 2TB for R150pm. Not exactly breaking the bank here.

I just wish I could use my iCloud allocation for Time Machine backups :--(

 

[Rickster]

I just wish I could use my iCloud allocation for Time Machine backups :--(

External drives arnt that expensive.

 

[Mr Scratch]

External drives arnt that expensive.

Never needing to plug one in >>>>


I currently use a 2.5" external SSD but I'd much rather just never have to plug anything in besides a charger, especially for critical function like backup.

 

[Wakandafication]

Never needing to plug one in >>>>


I currently use a 2.5" external SSD but I'd much rather just never have to plug anything in besides a charger, especially for critical function like backup.

Backup to a raspberry pi running Open Media Vault over wifi for the DIY route?

Get a Synology NAS that runs on your LAN via wifi for the clicky clicky route?

 

[Mr Scratch]

Backup to a raspberry pi running Open Media Vault over wifi for the DIY route?

Get a Synology NAS that runs on your LAN via wifi for the clicky clicky route?

Why pay the extra cash to do something Apple could open up since I pay for the cloud storage anyway?

 

[SauRoNZA]

Never needing to plug one in >>>>


I currently use a 2.5" external SSD but I'd much rather just never have to plug anything in besides a charger, especially for critical function like backup.

So put a Time Machine NAS on your local network?

 

[SauRoNZA]

Why pay the extra cash to do something Apple could open up since I pay for the cloud storage anyway?

If it’s already on iCloud then why the need for a Time Machine backup?

 

[Mr Scratch]

If it’s already on iCloud then why the need for a Time Machine backup?

Not everything is synced via iCloud, like Time Machine backups (which provide snapshotting for files at regular intervals) which is different to having the most up-to-date copy of one file synced to my phone. I need both, which Apple intentionally does not provide a way to do.

 

[Mr Scratch]

So put a Time Machine NAS on your local network?

Again, why pay more for space I already pay for for iCloud? I don't have a 2TB Mac, I have a 512GB disk so the rest of the "cloud" allocation should be able to be used for Time Machine snapshots via Time Machine backups instead of me needing to pay for even more storage from another party?

 

[SauRoNZA]

Not everything is synced via iCloud, like Time Machine backups (which provide snapshotting for files at regular intervals) which is different to having the most up-to-date copy of one file synced to my phone. I need both, which Apple intentionally does not provide a way to do.

But you have local Time Machine snapshots for that as part of APFS.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Again, why pay more for space I already pay for for iCloud? I don't have a 2TB Mac, I have a 512GB disk so the rest of the "cloud" allocation should be able to be used for Time Machine snapshots via Time Machine backups instead of me needing to pay for even more storage from another party?

I wonder if there’s a chance to hack it with a sparse volume and simply point it to iCloud.

Never thought about it as it seems a hit silly to me.

The two are different solutions to the same problem, so don’t see the need to unify them.

 

[Mr Scratch]

I wonder if there’s a chance to hack it with a sparse volume and simply point it to iCloud.

Never thought about it as it seems a hit silly to me.

The two are different solutions to the same problem, so don’t see the need to unify them.

Having synced files and snapshots on a secure store are certainly not different problems but I also wonder if it could be used that way but haven't found anything like the Google Drive mount thing some people do

 

[HavocXphere]

Question kinda also depends on internet availability & speed