Not sure how much storage space you need when buying a new phone? Or just decide to buy the largest amount of storage available for the model you are getting. This is usually a huge waste of money unless you absolutely need the 512GB-1TB of capacity available on flagship phones these days.
Apple Support suggests determining how much storage space you need for your new iPhone
In an effort to be helpful, Apple Support released a video on Friday titled “How to choose your iPhone storage capacity.” Apple says, “When you buy a new iPhone, you can find out which storage capacity is best for you by looking at how much storage space you’re currently using.” Hey, this actually makes sense. Knowing how much storage space is currently on your phone can probably help you determine whether you’re better off with less storage, more storage, or the same amount.
We should also keep in mind that if you’re a phone enthusiast, you probably already know how much storage space you have on your handset. If you got here from a Google search, welcome, and let’s move on. This will not be difficult. On your iPhone, go to Settings I General I iPhone storage† At the top of the screen you can see how much storage space you have used and how much is available to you in total.
You will also see an overview of the types of files you use to store your iPhone. For example, if you use the color coding on the iPhone Storage Measurement Tool, you can quickly see if your handset is full of apps, photos, videos, email, and messages. The Apple representative says in the video, “As you approach your limit, you should consider an iPhone with a larger capacity.”
Knowing your current storage capacity can help you determine how much you need for your next iPhone
If you have a lot of unused space, Apple suggests your next iPhone has a similar storage capacity to the one you’re currently using. Keep in mind that in that situation, Apple does not say to buy a phone with a smaller storage capacity. That might be wise advice instead of taking money from Apple, because getting caught with too much extra storage isn’t the same as getting caught without enough storage.
Of course, iPhone users can always use iCloud for storage. When you sign up for iCloud, you get 5 GB of free storage. In the US, you can buy 50 GB of iCloud+ storage for 99 cents per month, $2.99 per month for 200 GB of iCloud+ storage, and $9.99 per month for 2 TB of storage.
Storage capacity has come a long way for both the iPhone and the industry in general. When the OG iPhone was released in 2007, it was first available with only 4 GB and 8 GB of storage. Apple eventually added a 16GB option. In 2011, the iPhone 4s was the first iPhone with a whopping 64 GB of storage. Launched in 2014, the iPhone 6 line was the first to offer 128GB of storage.
Two years later, in 2016, Apple introduced 256GB of storage on the iPhone 7 line. With the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, this doubled to 512 GB in 2018. And the iPhone 13 Pro line was the first with a storage capacity of up to 1 TB. Since Apple appears to be doubling its best storage option every two years, we may not see the 2TB of storage available to iPhone users until next year with iPhone 15.