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KeanosMagicHat

macrumors 68000
May 18, 2012
1,559
556
http://www.androidcentral.com/bbc-w...amsung-galaxy-s4-internal-storage-controversy

Bit of a non issue as far as I am concerned

Isn't this the same with virtually all storage, you don't get exactly as advertised

About time I reckon. The 16GB model has just over half that space available which is ridiculous.

The problem is exasperated further as Samsung phones (possibly all Android, I haven't yet made the move) don't allow a proportion of apps to be installed on a MicroSD card.
 

paulsalter

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 10, 2008
1,622
0
UK
About time I reckon. The 16GB model has just over half that space available which is ridiculous.

How much space does a 16GB iPod have available (all of it)?
How much does a Windows Tablet have available?
Does a 128GB MBA have all this available to the user?
Does an HTC phone have all the space available?
 

JaySoul

macrumors 68030
Jan 30, 2008
2,629
2,865
About time I reckon. The 16GB model has just over half that space available which is ridiculous.

The problem is exasperated further as Samsung phones (possibly all Android, I haven't yet made the move) don't allow a proportion of apps to be installed on a MicroSD card.

Have to agree.

You don't mind a bit of the space being taken up, but once it's well over 25% of the entire storage space taken over by bloatware?

Not cool.
 

lobeyonekenobi

macrumors regular
Mar 18, 2010
234
492
Melbourne, Australia
How much space does a 16GB iPod have available (all of it)?
How much does a Windows Tablet have available?
Does a 128GB MBA have all this available to the user?
Does an HTC phone have all the space available?

My 32GB iPod has 29GB space so of that means only 3GB is taken by the OS so obviously the same applies to the 16GB, even my rMBP with Mountain Lion uses less space, and Windows 8 about the same.

HTC don't add no where near as much bloatware as Samsung, am I wrong??

You have to admit if half or more of your hard drive space is being taken up by the OS and apps then it is a bit extreme.
 

KeanosMagicHat

macrumors 68000
May 18, 2012
1,559
556
How much space does a 16GB iPod have available (all of it)?
How much does a Windows Tablet have available?
Does a 128GB MBA have all this available to the user?
Does an HTC phone have all the space available?

I understand in that I sell disk storage, so I know that you'll never get full capacity, but this is not the problem here, it is all the unnecessary bloatware installed.

You made a comparison to Apple products and I've read articles elsewhere that iOS takes up a far less space than Samsung's latest system software.

I have no axe to grind against any company, but when almost half the space is taken up before a customer uses the phone, it's almost becoming false advertising.

(especially to a general public who are not as tech savvy as those on here)
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,154
My 32GB iPod has 29GB space so of that means only 3GB is taken by the OS so obviously the same applies to the 16GB, even my rMBP with Mountain Lion uses less space, and Windows 8 about the same.

HTC don't add no where near as much bloatware as Samsung, am I wrong??

You have to admit if half or more of your hard drive space is being taken up by the OS and apps then it is a bit extreme.

He said windows tablet. Given the 32 gb Surface only has about 16 gb available I think that's a good point.

Personally I look into this prior to purchasing a device. I'm not surprised when a device that has more stuff on it uses more space.
 

theluggage

macrumors 604
Jul 29, 2011
7,476
7,315
Wow - that's brilliant news for Samsung! Until now, it has been Apple who get singled out for generic problems that affect all gadgets: iPods make you go deaf! iPod batteries explode if they are damaged! iPads stop pacemakers! etc.

...but finally, we see "Samsung phones use some memory for the OS and pre-installed Apps!". Yes, Samsung have finally attained equity with Apple.

I wonder if Watchdog will be extending their probe to look at the MS Surface Pro: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2026...ith-only-23gb-of-available-storage-space.html

Seriously, it is probably time that manufacturers started coming clean about free space when they're selling things to non-technical consumers so that they could make an informed judgement as to how many songs and movies they can carry around. OK, some of us always knew that there would only be 70K left on our 100K floppies after formatting and installing CP/M, but you no longer have to be a techie to buy a PC. The USA might not agree, but on this side of the pond we have this thing about not liking advertising that misleads its target audience, even if it is pedantically correct.
 

paulsalter

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 10, 2008
1,622
0
UK
It does look extreme as mentioned above but reading the article

2GB is the added content by samsung (some might call bloatware)

So if the phone has 8.8 available, that means the OS is about 5GB

Doesn't sound too extreme in general to me
 

lobeyonekenobi

macrumors regular
Mar 18, 2010
234
492
Melbourne, Australia
I should have been more clear, when I said Windows 8 I meant the OS on the desktop not on the tablet.

If indeed the Surface has only 16GB free (can't say I know as I don't own one) then that too is not right.

I can only compare this to what I have iPad, iPod etc... and it is not right it being advertised as 16GB when you barely have 8GB available.
 

paulsalter

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 10, 2008
1,622
0
UK
I should have been more clear, when I said Windows 8 I meant the OS on the desktop not on the tablet.

If indeed the Surface has only 16GB free (can't say I know as I don't own one) then that too is not right.

I can only compare this to what I have iPad, iPod etc... and it is not right it being advertised as 16GB when you barely have 8GB available.

But where do you draw the line and say whats acceptable

8GB available out of 16GB is a lot and I agree that it should state something
13GB on a 16GB on an iPod should equally be unacceptable (just to a lesser degree)

Anyone with the new HTC confirm how much space this has?
 

lobeyonekenobi

macrumors regular
Mar 18, 2010
234
492
Melbourne, Australia
It does look extreme as mentioned above but reading the article

2GB is the added content by samsung (some might call bloatware)

So if the phone has 8.8 available, that means the OS is about 5GB

Doesn't sound too extreme in general to me

Fair enough it just depends on personal preference i suppose, I just think maybe when something is advertised as being 16GB or and only 8.8GB or whatever is available then there's something wrong.

As The Luggage said then maybe something should be done to advise any person not tech-savvy on the true space available in order to make an informed choice.

And I am not singling out Samsung, it should apply to all companies including Apple
 

paulsalter

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 10, 2008
1,622
0
UK
Fair enough it just depends on personal preference i suppose, I just think maybe when something is advertised as being 16GB or and only 8.8GB or whatever is available, as The Luggage said then maybe something should be done to advise any person not tech-savvy on the true space available in order to make an informed choice.

And I am not singling out Samsung, it should apply to all companies including Apple

Fully agree

I can see if things change it will be like broadband stats advertised, the magical term 'up to' will be added

Galaxy S4 with up to 16GB available

Personally I also like the idea TheLuggage mentioned earlier, how much you can fit on it instead of the size of storage
 

lobeyonekenobi

macrumors regular
Mar 18, 2010
234
492
Melbourne, Australia
Fully agree

I can see if things change it will be like broadband stats advertised, the magical term 'up to' will be added

Galaxy S4 with up to 16GB available

Personally I also like the idea TheLuggage mentioned earlier, how much you can fit on it instead of the size of storage

This would never happen for obvious reasons but maybe make a phone or iPod or whatever a 16GB PLUS the OS and apps.

OR have the options to be able to erase the bloatware or extra features and re-download them like any other app, but that's an ideal world scenario.
 

paulsalter

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 10, 2008
1,622
0
UK
Tbut maybe make a phone or iPod or whatever a 16GB PLUS the OS and apps.

Go back to how Android was a couple of years ago, OS/Apps where separate

On my S2

2GB is for the OS & Apps (Increase this to perhaps min 8GB at the moment)
12GB is for whatever I want (make this the 16, 32GB etc)

Then there is the slot to add more if I want
 

watchthisspace

macrumors 6502a
Apr 11, 2010
641
47
Out of curiosity how much space is used on a brand new Nexus 4 from the OS?

16gb Nexus 4 is roughly 13gb usable. 8gb version = 5ish gb

Source: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1974830

Now for Microsoft's Surface, it little usable storage because it comes with a massive recovery partition so you can do a clean reset without plugging the device into a computer. I believe the idea behind it was for true portability without the dependancy of a computer. Good idea in theory, but in practice it uses a little too much space.

And for Samsungs S4, all those sensors need software to make them of any use I guess *shrug*

A big bonus for iOS devices is Apple can really hone down on the space taken by iOS.
 

daveathall

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2010
2,379
1,410
North Yorkshire
I have just had a quick count of the apps I have downloaded, it comes to roughly 45, it works out at just over a gig, I still have nearly 7gb left on my internal storage and 14gb left on my sd card after loading well over 40gb worth of music on it, I'm not gonna run out of storage. I don't play games though, this would make a difference. :) TBH, storage is a non issue for me, if I wanted more music from my library I would buy another SD card to swap out with my original.

I always used a 16gb iPhone, I baulked at paying a 100 for another 16 gig and then another 100 to double that so forwent the pleasure of storing music on my phone. My 64gig Sd card cost under 50 quid.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009HPFUGI/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Last edited:

blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,599
33
16gb Nexus 4 is roughly 13gb usable. 8gb version = 5ish gb

Source: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1974830

Now for Microsoft's Surface, it little usable storage because it comes with a massive recovery partition so you can do a clean reset without plugging the device into a computer. I believe the idea behind it was for true portability without the dependancy of a computer. Good idea in theory, but in practice it uses a little too much space.

And for Samsungs S4, all those sensors need software to make them of any use I guess *shrug*

A big bonus for iOS devices is Apple can really hone down on the space taken by iOS.

Android itself is actually very small. Its under 100MB's.
 

thejadedmonkey

macrumors G3
May 28, 2005
9,156
3,265
Pennsylvania
Now for Microsoft's Surface, it little usable storage because it comes with a massive recovery partition so you can do a clean reset without plugging the device into a computer. I believe the idea behind it was for true portability without the dependancy of a computer. Good idea in theory, but in practice it uses a little too much space.

Honestly, I like the idea. It means that no matter where in the world I am, I don't have to worry about my Windows install getting hosed, unless the device physically breaks (and that's almost impossible to do!)

Plus, the 32gb Surface RT is the same price point as the 16gb iPad, so IMO it's like getting a 16gb iPad with 16gb of free space.
 

jamojamo

macrumors 6502
Feb 12, 2010
387
7
Wow - that's brilliant news for Samsung! Until now, it has been Apple who get singled out for generic problems that affect all gadgets: iPods make you go deaf! iPod batteries explode if they are damaged! iPads stop pacemakers! etc.

...but finally, we see "Samsung phones use some memory for the OS and pre-installed Apps!". Yes, Samsung have finally attained equity with Apple.

I agree, this should cause rejoicing in the halls at Samsung! Nobody cares when a no-name brand does the same thing.

More signs that the Android vs. iOS will be more like Samsung vs. Apple soon as bad as that may be for all of us consumers (I'd prefer viable 3rd and 4th alternatives).
 
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