Can 16GB of storage really cut it in today's smartphone world?

[rockitdog23]

Apple is the lone 16GB manufacturer in the smartphone arena these days in a world where just about everyone else has gone to 32GB of base storage. Can 16GB really work when Apple has allowed app developers to build apps up to 4GB in size. Think about it, when you have about 11GB to start with, that seems crazy.

I'm curious if any of you would consider yourself power iPhone users on just 16GB of storage. How do you manage and how do you get by?

 

[kch50428]

If someone isn't using many/any apps, doesn't store music/video on device, and isn't taking a lot of pictures and they know how to manage their device, 16GB is enough... I personally wouldn't get anything under a 64GB device... but that's just me.

 

[anon(4698833)]

You can't really give a generic definition to the term "power user" in a way that it is defined by the storage capacity of a person's phone. If a person takes advantage of the numerous cloud based storage options, a 16GB iPhone is just as capable as any iPhone variant, because you basically have unlimited storage capacity options at that point.

There's really no reason why it can't "cut it", it's just a different experience vs. that of a person who has a lot of internal storage. To be 100% honest, with cloud storage becoming the norm for so many things, its not really that big of a deal at all if you're willing to buy into cloud storage as a primary storage option.

It's not crazy at all to me. Its a cheap option into the iPhone market with a very legitimate option for storing everything that a person with a larger storage variant would have.

 

[John Yester]

Think it goes both ways. Countless times I am helping out a family member who has the lower storage size and they didn't they would use all the space at first, but then wham...

But I have also seen some who have never downloaded a single thing nor use it for pictures. etc......

 

[iOS Gravity]

I have 6 GB left out of the 12 GB or so that came with the 16 GB iPhone 6.

 

[anon(4698833)]

Think it goes both ways. Countless times I am helping out a family member who has the lower storage size and they didn't they would use all the space at first, but then wham...

But I have also seen some who have never downloaded a single thing nor use it for pictures. etc......

But wouldn't that lend itself more towards the education of the consumer (about cloud services) vs. the elimination of the storage variant all together?

 

[Just_Me_D]

Apple is the lone 16GB manufacturer in the smartphone arena these days in a world where just about everyone else has gone to 32GB of base storage.

So. Apple still sells a ton of 16 GB models year after year.

Can 16GB really work when Apple has allowed app developers to build apps up to 4GB in size.

Yes, there are numerous users who can make 16 GB of storage work for them. Not everyone is a gamer or takes tons of photos or videos or even store music.

Think about it, when you have about 11GB to start with, that seems crazy.

That seems,"crazy" to some people, but not everyone. If I know that I'm only going to use my iPhone for email, texting, creating calendar events & reminders, as well as 'streaming' music and occasionally play simple word games, having "11 GB to start with" is plenty.

I'm curious if any of you would consider yourself power iPhone users on just 16GB of storage. How do you manage and how do you get by?

Indeed I am a "power user", and I was a power user long before I got my 64 GB iPhone 6 Plus. Being a "power user" is being able to accomplish the things I want to accomplish using the device I have as well as being able to troubleshoot and fix problems associated with my device. Storage space has nothing to do with it, in my opinion.

 

[Ariel Babalao]

Yes I think load of people still use 16gb. Take a business man who's running a urge factory or company for example, all he wants is a phone that house his contacts, meetings, reminders, emails, sms, and is capable of making and receiving calls without dropping them. He doesn't have time to look for apps in the apps store, he doesn't use his iPhone to take photos like photographer or to listen to music.
These kind of people a many in the society and not that they can't afford 64 or 128Gb, they just don't need it. All the need is a phone that just work with some little extra. My boss is one of them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Haalcyon]

I have multiple phones. 16GB would fine for me on one them...and I'm not the only phone enthusiast with multiple phones. A 16GB device would allow me to take what I really need and use the cloud if I needed more. If I only had one device though, I'd want at least 32GB for growing room...but I don't keep my phones longer than a year typically.

 

[LockOnTech]

I had a handful of 16gb devices in the past, 16gb is okay in a iPod touch. Since I selected a larger capacity model this time there is no way in the world I am going to use that much space; however it is always available. Since there are rumored that the upcoming iPhones may delete the 16gb models, it is somewhat long overdue; but it is good that apple at least acknowledge that 16gb is not enough especially with the cost of storage drives are somewhat reasonably low.

 

[LockOnTech]

I had a handful of 16gb devices in the past, 16gb is okay in a iPod touch. Since I selected a larger capacity model this time there is no way in the world I am going to use that much space; however it is always available. Since there are rumored that the upcoming iPhones may delete the 16gb models, it is somewhat long overdue; but it is good that apple at least acknowledge that 16gb is not enough especially with the cost of storage drives are somewhat reasonably low.

I apologize, where are my manners?

Here is the source of the fazing from, 16GB models.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Appl...on-starting-with-the-iPhone-6S-series_id71658

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

The way I look at it is this: what do I care whether a 16GB iPhone can "cut it in today's smartphone world?" If it doesn't work for me (which it doesn't), that's one thing. But why should I care that Apple still produces them? Why should I care that it would be a problem for Apple? I just enjoy the products that Apple makes and that I can actually use.

 

[iN8ter]

The way I look at it is this: what do I care whether a 16GB iPhone can "cut it in today's smartphone world?" If it doesn't work for me (which it doesn't), that's one thing. But why should I care that Apple still produces them? Why should I care that it would be a problem for Apple? I just enjoy the products that Apple makes and that I can actually use.

Because it sets the baseline price. The 16GB basically ensures you keep paying more for the 64GB. When Samsung went from 16 to 32GB on the Galaxy S, the price didn't go up $50 to compensate. The base SKU price stayed the same, the storage was practically free.

That's why it matters, especially since Apple charges twice the industry average for storage upgrades.

So yea, we should care that they're basically corralling users into higher prices devices by keeping the base SKU at laughably low storage.

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

Because it sets the baseline price. The 16GB basically ensures you keep paying more for the 64GB. When Samsung went from 16 to 32GB on the Galaxy S, the price didn't go up $50 to compensate. The base SKU price stayed the same, the storage was practically free.

That's why it matters, especially since Apple charges twice the industry average for storage upgrades.

So yea, we should care that they're basically corralling users into higher prices devices by keeping the base SKU at laughably low storage.

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

"Corralling" lol.

Either you buy it at the price they set it at or you don't. You already mentioned another option in your post which means that other options are out there. An iPhone, in my little opinion, is a luxury device.

 

[iN8ter]

"Corralling" lol.

Either you buy it at the price they set it at or you don't. You already mentioned another option in your post which means that other options are out there. An iPhone, in my little opinion, is a luxury device.

No. It's just another phone. And you're missing the point. Completely ignored it, even.

And yea corralling. It's working for them and it's a valid business model, but the options exist solely to boost their profits not for any luxury or consumer benefit. It's there to set the average cost of an iPhone higher because they know just as well as we do how terrible a 16GB device these days.

If 32GB was the base SKU their profits would take a substantial hit because most people would save the $100 and get that. 32GB is enough. 16GB is laughably low on a "luxury flagship" device.

It's been laughably low since late 2013... When practically the entire industry moved to 32GB base in their flagship devices, on literally every major smartphone platform.

Apple has an advantage here as the sole provider of iOS devices and that why they can continue to do that. If Orange had an iOS phone with similar specs and twice the base storage, they wouldn't have a 16GB SKU at all except on last years model.

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[anon(4698833)]

No. It's just another phone. And you're missing the point. Completely ignored it, even.

And yea corralling. It's working for them and it's a valid business model, but the options exist solely to boost their profits not for any luxury or consumer benefit. It's there to set the average cost of an iPhone higher because they know just as well as we do how terrible a 16GB device these days.

If 32GB was the base SKU their profits would take a substantial hit because most people would save the $100 and get that. 32GB is enough. 16GB is laughably low on a "luxury flagship" device.

It's been laughably low since late 2013... When practically the entire industry moved to 32GB base in their flagship devices, on literally every major smartphone platform.

Apple has an advantage here as the sole provider of iOS devices and that why they can continue to do that. If Orange had an iOS phone with similar specs and twice the base storage, they wouldn't have a 16GB SKU at all except on last years model.

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

No, it's a luxury device...just like the flagship devices from every other smart phone manufacturer in the segment. These aren't just "phones", and it doesn't take some master of observation to understand that when looking at the spectrum of devices that are considered "cellular phones" these days. Calling it "just another phone" is like calling a Ferrari "just another car".

And why do you think pointing out Apple's decision to keep the 16GB model is a business move is some kind of marvel of insight? 99% of the things they do are business moves for profit. Do you think pointing this out makes you some kind of insider? Do you think this is some lost concept on the rest of the people discussing it here?

16GB of storage worked perfectly fine and satisfied a huge segment of the consumer base looking to buy the iPhone each and every year. They had options to make the lower storage option work for them via iCloud (if they needed more room).

You guys pretend like Apple is in the charity business. It's actually pretty hilarious at the end of the day...and then this entire discussion gets rendered obsolete with the reveal today that the 16GB is, most likely, a thing of the past.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

If 32GB was the base SKU their profits would take a substantial hit because most people would save the $100 and get that. 32GB is enough. 16GB is laughably low on a "luxury flagship" device.

You're saying this like it's a terrible thing and thinking you're revealing something nobody knows.

And who are you to say that that their profits would take a substantial hit? You don't even know how many individual 6, 6 Pluses, and 5S' are sold. How do you know that they're not selling more 16GB devices than anything else? You're making a ton of assumptions like you see Apple's books.

 

[Coachbulldog]

It's working for them [Apple] and it's a valid business model, but the options exist solely to boost their profits not for any luxury or consumer benefit.

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

With this statement, you pretty much answer the issues you've raised in this thread. The only thing I will add is that I would not want the administrator of my pension plan to invest in a company that hasn't adopted a business model like Apple's.

 

[iN8ter]

You're saying this like it's a terrible thing and thinking you're revealing something nobody knows.

And who are you to say that that their profits would take a substantial hit? You don't even know how many individual 6, 6 Pluses, and 5S' are sold. How do you know that they're not selling more 16GB devices than anything else? You're making a ton of assumptions like you see Apple's books.

It's terrible for me, cause I have to spend more money because the base SKU is still stuck in 2011 storage-wise. How is having to spend more money not a terrible thing?

Like I said, it's great for Apple, and horrible for us. All of us.

I'm not sure how any other logical person could disagree.


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

It's terrible for me, cause I have to spend more money because the base SKU is still stuck in 2011 storage-wise. How is having to spend more money not a terrible thing?

Like I said, it's great for Apple, and horrible for us. All of us.

I'm not sure how any other logical person could disagree.


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

I'm saying it's not terrible in a business sense for Apple.

I wouldn't quantify it as "terrible" for consumers because we, including yourself, have the option of not buying and choosing something else.

Would I want to save $100? Of course. Is it "terrible" that you spent an extra $100 more than you wanted because 16GB isn't sufficient enough for you? Not really.