This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
We're in the AI fog right now – and what I mean by that is that we as a society haven't exactly found a straight answer to the question of the new millennium: do we need AI or not, and if so, how much should we pay?
It's funny, because the question was never really asked in a proper manner in the first place. One morning we woke up and it was all there – ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Apple Intelligence… I'm joking about the last one.
Even without Apple fully present on the AI board, those among us who have smartphones (that's just another word for almost everybody on this Pale Blue Doth of ours) can prove me right – AI is penetrating our beloved devices deeper by the hour.
We need the best tools at the lowest price and they should come with a cool user interface, too. It's not much to ask for. Google tends to disagree.
Google's new AI subscription plan – unveiled just the other day – costs $250 per month, and that made my heart skip a beat… and not in a good way.
Now, I know how crazy inflation has been these past several years in many parts of the world, but prices overall are still not high enough to make me swallow the aforementioned $250/month price tag just like that.
And, as it turns out, I'm not alone in this sticker shocker sentiment. The new subscription got people split down the middle.
But before we start discussing our feelings, we should briefly check what's up with Google's new plan. After all, one must get lots of goodies for a quarter of a grand per month, right?
30,000 gigabytes of Google storage, not just AI
Image by Google
As a matter of fact, the new Google AI Ultra plan is $125 per month, but only for the first three months and if you act quickly.
It gives you access to the most advanced version of Gemini, which supports complex tasks like coding, deep research, and creative writing with the highest usage limits. The plan also includes early access to Deep Think, a smarter reasoning mode within Gemini 2.5 Pro. Users can also try Flow, an AI video tool powered by models like Veo and Imagen, which turns prompts into cinematic scenes with features like 1080p resolution and camera controls, and will support early access to Veo 3. Of course, don't expect to be the next James Cameron just because your computer makes seconds-long clips of cats in spacesuits.
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There's also Whisk, which allows users to generate 8-second animated clips from images or text using Veo 2, offering a fast way to visualize ideas. NotebookLM helps with studying and projects by summarizing and explaining documents, and Ultra subscribers will get the best version later this year. Gemini is also integrated into Gmail, Docs, and Vids to help with everyday writing and editing tasks, and it's coming to Chrome to assist directly on web pages. Project Mariner helps manage up to 10 tasks at once, like booking, research, or shopping, all from one place. The plan also includes a YouTube Premium subscription for ad-free viewing and listening, plus 30 TB of cloud storage across Google Drive, Gmail, and Photos.
Yup, that's 30 terabytes – as in, 30 thousand gigabytes of storage. Are you obsessed with 4K or 8K video? Are you hoarding large amounts of data? You might have thousands of movies on your computer, I believe you – but I doubt that many people out there need that many terabytes.
I see the 30 TB thing as a freebie that no one asked for: obviously Google is trying to dampen the $250/monthly sticker shocker by throwing in some bonuses to try and make us not complain about the price too loudly.
I don't intend to go on Google's bad side here, but this does seem kind of lame.
Google bragged for two hours how special the new Gemini model is, how mind-blowing Deep Think is, how exquisite their video generating algorithms are, and more.
Want to give it a spin? Yeah, well, reach deeper in your pocket – I mean, you've got to pay 10 times more than what one pays for the basic Google AI Pro plan ($20). Even with the current 50% discount, the price is still six times higher than the "vanilla" subscription.
Buy the ticket, ride the DeepMind train
Image by Google
What if I don't want the 30 TB, nor YouTube Premium? Will you bring down the price to $50, Google?
The 30 TB storage solely costs $150, YouTube Premium is $14: taken out of the $250 fee for the Ultra plan, that's leaving us with… what, less than $90 for the rest of the AI bundle? Cut that in half (as an initial promo), and there you have it: $50 for the new plan!
But that won't happen. I think the Big G has included the 30 TB storage option to amaze us, but even without it, the price wouldn't drop below $200 realistically speaking. Not in 2025, at least.
I suspect that the advanced Deep Think model and the AI video generation are to blame for the high price here – these are not platforms that were created overnight.
Also, AI-generated video is expensive because it relies on very powerful computers to process huge amounts of data. Creating a video frame by frame with realistic motion, lighting, and detail takes a lot of computing power, especially when the quality is high. The AI models that make this possible are extremely advanced and costly to train, often using vast datasets and running for weeks or months on high-end hardware. Even after the model is trained, generating each video requires large amounts of processing in real time, which is expensive to run.
There's something else as well. AI might be getting smarter, but its thirst is growing too. Training advanced models like Gemini guzzles thousands of liters of water for cooling – sometimes even clean drinking water. While some data centers use recycled or non-potable sources, many still tap into precious freshwater supplies. Google boasts about AI breakthroughs but stays mum on the mounting environmental cost. As the planet faces wildfires and water shortages, prioritizing convenience over conservation feels not just shortsighted, but shameful.
We're divided once again
If you take a stroll on Reddit, you'll see that people are interested in the new Deep Think model, but many are repulsed by the high subscription fee:
As people note, trying a 30 TB cloud storage plan comes with several potential downsides. One major concern is vendor lock-in. Once you've uploaded terabytes of data, moving that data to another service can be slow, expensive, and complicated, especially if you rely on that cloud provider's unique tools or formats.
There's also the risk of depending too much on a single provider for critical files, which could be problematic in the event of outages, service disruptions, or policy changes. Additionally, uploading and managing 30 TB requires fast and reliable internet (fiber isn't exactly super pricey, but it's not cheap as well), and if you stop paying, your access to that data could be limited or cut off. Ouch!
Of course, there are some who are OK with the Ultra plan:
The supporters of Google's Ultra plan are not that numerous – but that's only natural, given the price tag we're dealing with here.
What is your take on the whole thing? Is that an overcharged bundle, or $250/month is a fair price to pay for what is being offered? Let me know in the comments below.
Sebastian, a veteran of a tech writer with over 15 years of experience in media and marketing, blends his lifelong fascination with writing and technology to provide valuable insights into the realm of mobile devices. Embracing the evolution from PCs to smartphones, he harbors a special appreciation for the Google Pixel line due to their superior camera capabilities. Known for his engaging storytelling style, sprinkled with rich literary and film references, Sebastian critically explores the impact of technology on society, while also perpetually seeking out the next great tech deal, making him a distinct and relatable voice in the tech world.
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