Why is there a 16 GB iPhone Plus? Seriously...

anon(279851)

Well-known member
Apr 16, 2011
227
1
0
Visit site
Can someone please tell me other than greed why Apple doesn't start at 32gb especially in light of 4K video? And please don't tell me how there are people who don't use it for anything other than making phones calls, texting, and surfing (a weak justification IMO). They can step it up regarding the introductory model, right?
 
Last edited:

Beyond Fire

Well-known member
Nov 23, 2012
459
0
0
Visit site
I have a feeling Apple will get rid of 16gb come iPhone 7. But it doesn't matter for me as I need at least 64gb.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

blwatson

Well-known member
Oct 5, 2011
70
1
0
Visit site
Can someone please tell me other than greed why Apple doesn't start at 32gb especially in light of 4K video? And please don't tell me how there are people who don't use it for anything than making phones calls, texting, and surfing. They can step it up regarding the introductory model, right?

It sounds dumb, but no one can honestly answer why. Personally, I think it's a terrible idea to start at 16gb, but I'm sure (like with most things) it's about the money.
 

joe_m_p

Member
Oct 5, 2015
23
0
0
Visit site
I'd be fine with a 16 GB iPhone if it had expandable memory. I need at least 32 GB internal memory if I don't have the option to expand. Same thing for Google's phones, why don't they just let you pop a micro SD card in and be done? Problem solved.
 

Spencerdl

Apple Watch Champion
Moderator
Jan 10, 2013
41,121
193
63
Visit site
I'd be fine with a 16 GB iPhone if it had expandable memory. I need at least 32 GB internal memory if I don't have the option to expand. Same thing for Google's phones, why don't they just let you pop a micro SD card in and be done? Problem solved.

There are several Android devices that feature expandable memory. May I suggest visiting our sister site Android Central. You will be able to find information on what you are looking for.


Sent from my iPhone 6s Plus using Tapatalk
 

iEd

Banned
Jun 13, 2012
3,402
2
0
Visit site
Can someone please tell me other than greed why Apple doesn't start at 32gb especially in light of 4K video? And please don't tell me how there are people who don't use it for anything other than making phones calls, texting, and surfing (a weak justification IMO). They can step it up regarding the introductory model, right?

You need to ask Apple this question. Send feedback to Apple or send Tim Cook a email.
If you don't like what's offered as the base configuration don't buy it. It's that simple.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Gtech21

Well-known member
Mar 25, 2013
51
0
0
Visit site
Can someone please tell me other than greed why Apple doesn't start at 32gb especially in light of 4K video? And please don't tell me how there are people who don't use it for anything other than making phones calls, texting, and surfing (a weak justification IMO). They can step it up regarding the introductory model, right?

It's not for me but there are people who get the iPhone and use it just as a phone. I've had plenty of older people (in their 70's and 80's) tell me that. The phone is simple and it works well for them. No random crashes, not hard to find the PHONE, and it's supported by Apple.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

qbnkelt

Well-known member
Mar 17, 2012
5,213
5
33
Visit site
OK. So we have a thread asking why people would buy a 128GB phone and we now have a thread asking why Apple would sell 16GB phones.
Two opposing viewpoints with one very simple answer:

Customers exist for both configurations.


Sent from my GORGEOUS, SEXY, AWESOME Rose Gold 128G iPhone 6s Plus
 

maverick786us

Well-known member
Oct 23, 2014
106
0
0
Visit site
Can someone please tell me other than greed why Apple doesn't start at 32gb especially in light of 4K video? And please don't tell me how there are people who don't use it for anything other than making phones calls, texting, and surfing (a weak justification IMO). They can step it up regarding the introductory model, right?

That's how Apple makes profit. It will insist majority of the customers to buy 64-GB versions, so that they get 100$ more from each and every customer. I will go for 64-GB. 16 GB is simply pointless. If they start with 32 GB, no one will go for 64 GB as 32 GB will fulfill most of the needs.

The production cost of 64-128 GB might be marginally higher than 16 GB versions. But the profit margin is huge.
 

iEd

Banned
Jun 13, 2012
3,402
2
0
Visit site
My buddy got a 16 gig 6 Plus about 4 months ago. His reasoning was that he puts the bulk of media in his 128 Air 2. And uses his iPhone for talk text and browsing. While we were on the road I noticed he spends a lot of time on his iPad whereas I don't because I have a iPad 2 that of course is much slower than my 6Plus.
Another guy I work with always gets a 16 Gig doesn't even consider anything else. He also on purpose, stays a iPhone generation behind. He chooses to get the lowest priced iPhone a generation behind because that's what he wants to spend on a device.
He's getting a 6 Plus 16 gig. I have a 6 Plus 64 gig. Really what's the difference other than the storage and if the storage is not a concern for a user there is no difference.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

qbnkelt

Well-known member
Mar 17, 2012
5,213
5
33
Visit site
That's how Apple makes profit. It will insist majority of the customers to buy 64-GB versions, so that they get 100$ more from each and every customer. I will go for 64-GB. 16 GB is simply pointless. If they start with 32 GB, no one will go for 64 GB as 32 GB will fulfill most of the needs.

The production cost of 64-128 GB might be marginally higher than 16 GB versions. But the profit margin is huge.

I'm missing something.

For those individuals who don't want to buy a 16G phone, they have to move up in storage.
So they go for 64GB. Prior years, they would have gone for the 32GB. Both storage are $100 more, aren't they? So how is spending an extra $100 and getting 64GB a bad thing as opposed to paying the same extra $100 and getting half as much?

And we already know that there are people who are happy with 16GB because they stream everything so they might consider 32GB to be overkill just as there are people who feel 64GB is adequate for their needs.

Either way the cost is $100 for the added storage. The difference is that those who would get 32 are getting 64.

What am I not understanding?


Sent from my GORGEOUS, SEXY, AWESOME Rose Gold 128G iPhone 6s Plus
 

maverick786us

Well-known member
Oct 23, 2014
106
0
0
Visit site
My buddy got a 16 gig 6 Plus about 4 months ago. His reasoning was that he puts the bulk of media in his 128 Air 2. And uses his iPhone for talk text and browsing. While we were on the road I noticed he spends a lot of time on his iPad whereas I don't because I have a iPad 2 that of course is much slower than my 6Plus.
Another guy I work with always gets a 16 Gig doesn't even consider anything else. He also on purpose, stays a iPhone generation behind. He chooses to get the lowest priced iPhone a generation behind because that's what he wants to spend on a device.
He's getting a 6 Plus 16 gig. I have a 6 Plus 64 gig. Really what's the difference other than the storage and if the storage is not a concern for a user there is no difference.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Last year I made the mistake of purchasing iPad air 16GB. Just 2 days after using it, I returned it. Why?

1) I installed MS Word, Excel, One Note
2) I installed few iBooks
3) Few magazines in the book shelf and
4) Asphalt 8 airborn.

And I discovered only 5GB of space was remaining, throughout the day i had to look for ways to free up some space. Luckily I returned it and ordered 64GB, which serves most of my purpose. I don't want to get into the mess of retrieving from some external source or media and then watch it, specially, something that I frequently watch.

At such a high resolution, any application an easily consume space. data can be backed up and accessed using Cloud. In fact these Asus RT routers, when attach a UAN drive can act as a cloud storage with unlimited space, until those 4TB drives aren't full. But you can only store and retrieve data and files from these storage's, not the applications.
 
Last edited:

iEd

Banned
Jun 13, 2012
3,402
2
0
Visit site
Last year I made the mistake of purchasing iPad air 16GB. Just 2 days after using it, I returned it. Why?

1) I installed MS Word, Excel, One Note
2) I installed few iBooks
3) Few magazines in the book shelf and
4) Asphalt 8 airborn.

And I discovered only 5GB of space was remaining, throughout the day i had to look for ways to free up some space. Luckily I returned it and ordered 64GB, which serves most of my purpose. I don't want to get into the mess of retrieving from some external source or media and then watch it, specially, something that I frequently watch.

This is why a user should consider what they will use a device for. If they have experience with a 16 Gig device and their needs or wants haven't changed they know what to do with it.

When I bought my iPad 2 4 years ago I bought 64 gig because it was my main source of video entertainment and I had a 16 gig iPhone 4S. When I got a Apple TV my iPad usage for entertainment decreased.

When I got a Macbook Air my iPad use decreased even more. Getting a 6 Plus the iPad use decreased even more to where I just use it for work which is just reading music.
My considering a 16 Gig iPad Air 2 is that music reading files are rarely over a megabyte. I don't watch movies at home any longer on the iPad. Any home office types of tasks get done on the Macbook Air.

So for me the iPad Air 2 would be left to reading digital sheet music and some browsing. Which a 16 gig can handle.

For me the advantage of getting a iPad Air 2 is iOS 9's split screen and the battery in my iPad 2 is showing signs of its age.







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jan 20, 2014
1,005
0
0
Visit site
Marketing thing. For $100 more you literally get like triple the storage. Yet, it also clearly establishes a base model. This will sell as some people just want the device, they aren't thinking about the storage. That or companies that buy in bulk and expect their employees to only use the device for work. I think if they move the base to 32GB, they'll sustain the baseline sales, most likely increase them. However, I think that'll lower profit simply because less people will feel compelled to get the 64GB. They think "32GB is good enough, I'll save $100.".

However, I think as storage sizes massively increase and the cost decreases, we'll see a shift. I bet it'll go from 32GB to 128GB to 256GB.... Thus creating another well established base model and the great deal $100-$150 more can get you.


Sent from my iPad Mini 3 using Tapatalk. 🖖
 

qbnkelt

Well-known member
Mar 17, 2012
5,213
5
33
Visit site
And see my use would be different. It would be media consumption. So it would not be enough.

Different strokes.

Sent from my GORGEOUS, SEXY, AWESOME Rose Gold 128G iPhone 6s Plus
 

zaapx

Member
Oct 13, 2010
14
0
0
Visit site
Sorry in anticipation for the rant but..

It is call options, every person has the right to make the choice that better suits his/her

So? what is the problem? I mean, why does this has to be a issue, I get it, YOU feel it is stupid, but it is YOUR point of view, there will be people that will be fine with 16 gb let them be, let it be. let the options be. it does not affect you, it does not have to be something that bothers you at night, or at least it should not.
 

bdfortin

New member
Mar 9, 2011
3
0
0
Visit site
Instead of looking at it from the perspective of a power-user, look at it from Apple's perspective: Apple has hundreds of millions of customers, and they have the diagnostic data from all the ones who consent to sharing that info during the phone's setup. Apple knows what its average user is like in terms of screen-on time, app usage, storage, etc.

They haven't increased it since they went up to 16 GB in 2009 with the 3GS, and since then they've gone on to introduce several 8 GB models as "budget" models. Apple's business relies on providing good user experiences, and if most of its 8 GB and 16 GB users were maxing out their storage on a regular basis Apple would notice, their reputation among the average user would suffer, and they'd have to increase the base size. Since they haven't increased it in such a long time then it's safe to say that Apple's average user isn't maxing out their storage on a regular basis.

Remember, most people posting here aren't Apple's average user, we're power users. For power users they've doubled the storage while keeping the same price, so users who used to get 32 GB now get 64 GB, and users who used to get 64 GB now get 128 GB.

Basically, the people who historically haven't used much storage, "average users", *still* don't use much storage. Power users, on the other hand, the ones who used to be okay with 32 GB and eventually 64 GB, are now using even more. We'll likely only see the base model increase to 32 GB or 64 GB once Apple's "average user" (again, not power users) needs it. It could be next year, it could be in 2020, but only Apple can really predict that.
 

Ledsteplin

Ambassador
Oct 2, 2013
50,164
694
108
Visit site
Is it just me, or does the mere existence of this thread erk you? What difference does it make if a 16gb iPhone works for people or not? Obviously Apple is doing ok if they continue to produce them. It feels like a passive aggressive thread to troll people based on their personal choice. I can think of a handful of more pressing topics we could talk about which don't directly ask irrelevant questions like this. It's puzzling to me as to why the person who started this thread asked this question in the first place. I hope people's silly decisions to own a 16gb iPhone helped the person (who started thread) feel more secure about their own choice in iPhone capacity. But then again, I really don't care.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

"Silly decisions"? For whom? It's a sensible decision for many! Just not for you and many others. The main thing is we can all enjoy an iPhone, regardless of the storage capacity we choose for whatever our reasons. There is no right or wrong here. If it's an iPhone, it's a winner!
 

Trending Posts

Forum statistics

Threads
260,020
Messages
1,765,346
Members
441,221
Latest member
CØR