Most Google apps are free (and more than usable with ads), but the company has built several layers of paid services – led by YouTube – in recent years. The Google Store is now advertising these offers prominently, with a dedicated “Subscriptions” landing page.
Joining the Pixel, Nest, Stadia and Pixelbook product lines at the top of the Google Store today is a “Subscriptions” page. (Interestingly, this addition occurs at the expense of accessories.) Offers are divided into four categories:
- Programs and music: YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium,
- Games: Stadia Pro, Google Play Pass
- Storage and security: Google One, Nest Aware
- Phone plan: Google Fi
When people think of Google subscriptions, YouTube is probably what comes to mind immediately. In the third quarter of 2020, YouTube TV had 3 million customers in the United States, while Premium / Music Premium stood at 30 million. In the meantime, Google is working to expand Stadia Pro, while Play Pass is another initiative that offers Android games without ads and unlocks all in-app purchases.
Google One, which will become more important as Google Photos will lose free unlimited storage in 2021, is next. Meanwhile, Nest Aware was refurbished in May with restructured pricing plans that are no longer per device. Completing the list is the interesting Google Fi MVNO, which is linked to the configuration page of all phones.
In addition to the Google Store, the company argues that its hardware works better with paid offers. For example, the various service descriptions call “Nest Monitors, Chromecasts and Pixels” directly.
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