128GB? The Great Apple Storage Con(undrum)

[Zellio]

Even if there was a 128GB version the packrats out there would simply fill up that amount of space and then be demanding a 256GB version.

Simply organize your phone with iTunes and avoid the clutter.

Why not organize your phone and demand a 4 gb version?

 

[andiwm2003]

Yes.

(And, in this day and age, I'm surprised there are /still/ people that suggest growth in things like storage/memory should stop. Haven't we all learned, years ago, that whatever capacity we have at any given point in time isn't enough, that newer and higher quality media formats we burn through more and more capacity. Same goes for speed/performance, too)..........

Seem's I haven't learned that. I bought a 16GB 4S because 16GB is enough form me. I never ubgraded my 1st Gen iPad and I don't need a faster computer. That's why I use notebooks. Technology has reached a sufficient performance level and usability is more important than specs for many of us. There maybe a new use of phones and computers down the road. But for the next few years many consumers like me are ok with the spec's that were available already 3 years ago.

Aside of that: yes, I believe it's a marketing strategy to keep the iPhone at 64GB to make people upgrade in a year to the iPhone 6. Apple is better off to wait until enough people have the need for 128GB.

 

[CA2DC]

Apple's Being Greedy at Customer's Expense

It makes absolutely no sense unless you atribute it to Apple being greedy. Here we are still paying 2010 prices for flash memory that costs less than a quarter of what it did. A 64 gig USB 3 stick is $30, 64 gig high speed SSD's are in the $60 range. upgrading the iPhone to 64 gig is still $200. Even though the OS and Apps have grown over time, the flash size is still the same.

 

[terzinator]

I just did a quick hunt around the internets, trying to figure out prices for, say Micro SD cards at the different capacities...

16GB = $10-15
32GB = $20-25
64GB = $50-60

but not seeing any 128GB micro SD cards. (Not that they're using micro sd cards in the iPhone, but just trying to get a picture in my head of what the storage chips cost...)

So it's not in the iPhone because:
- it exists and it's too expensive,
- it doesn't exist
- it exists but isn't proven enough for Apple to use it...
- or [INSERT REASON HERE].

So, I kept hunting... Found a story from June (yeah, I know it's september now, but the phones have been in production for a little while, no?) regarding 128GB chips/phones, saying that SanDisk is "still working on 128GB" storage.

SanDisk product marketing manager Ruben Dennenwaldt said that micro-storage capacity of “128GB is certainly something we’re working on”, and that the technology needed to produce 128GB phones will “absolutely” be readily available within the next two years. Although vague about exactly when the prerequisite tech will arrive, Dennenwaldt says SanDisk is “making very good progress in the next capacity point.” Full-size 128GB SD cards are already available – Sandisk’s own 128GB Extreme SD card sells for just over £100 – but getting the size down to a level that will fit into microSD cards and today’s slim phones is “a significant challenge.” Dennenwaldt explains, “for microSD, from a technology perspective, the maximum that can be done at this point is 64GB, purely because of the form factor.”

http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/128gb-phone-tech-is-coming-says-sandisk

So, my feeble guess is that at some point in the next six months they'll bump up the storage on the iPhone 5S. (Maybe piggybacking on the announcement of some other new thing.)

Or it simply arrives with the next iPhone, a year from now.

Sure, it would have been nice to have Apple say why they couldn't/didn't offer a 128GB phone, even if they just added it for another $100 (instead of bumping up the whole line)... But I know that's not their style to apologize for or justify shortcomings or unmet expectations from the rumor-mill.

I'm starting to think that, if 128GB were available (or cost-effective enough to at least offer it), they would have touted it.

 

[tann]

This day and age there's no reason to not start at 32gb.

Maybe leave out the 128 this year but to start at 16gb is ridiculous.

HTC one is 32gb, GS4 has expandable memory.

Not to mention all of those are much cheaper than the iPhone 5S 16gb too. I can see an unlocked £550 iPhone 5S competing with a unlocked GS4 or HTC One (both £430 on Amazon) is ridiculous.

Even at release the HTC One was only £530 for 32gb. £630 for the 5S.

 

[617aircav]

This day and age there's no reason to not start at 32gb.

Maybe leave out the 128 this year but to start at 16gb is ridiculous.

HTC one is 32gb, GS4 has expandable memory.

Not to mention all of those are much cheaper than the iPhone 5S 16gb too. I can see an unlocked £550 iPhone 5S competing with a unlocked GS4 or HTC One (both £430 on Amazon) is ridiculous.

Even at release the HTC One was only £530 for 32gb. £630 for the 5S.

The reason is profits. Why sell 32gb for the same price as 16gb? Would you do that as a company?

 

[tann]

The reason is profits. Why sell 32gb for the same price as 16gb? Would you do that as a company?

Yes I would. When my competitors ALL cost less than me for, on paper, much more powerful devices I would make a change.

 

[terzinator]

This day and age there's no reason to not start at 32gb.

Maybe leave out the 128 this year but to start at 16gb is ridiculous.

They probably need to start the pricing at $199, or people will freak out.

But 32GB probably isn't that much more expensive than 16GB these days... (could we assume it would only be a couple of bucks to Apple, based on my findings of micro SD cards?)

But as we've seen here, lots of folks don't have all the music/movies/apps, and don't need more than 16GB.

It'll get bumped up mid-year. Or it won't. Buy what you need and can afford, I guess.

 

[MEJHarrison]

iTunes Match. Seriously. It works. And it's $2 a month, which is a lot less than the extra $100 (or $200) you're paying for the extra GBs.

Not saying you don't need the storage on your phone, but just trying to put it into context.

(Oh, yeah, I know, the data costs something, but I have NEVER run up against my data limit streaming music.)

Yeah I get that, and i would without doubt buy a 128GB version, id fill it too, with all sorts of stuff, apps, movies and music, but I wouldnt need access to it all, most of the time.

Have you tried some of the music streaming apps? It sounds like you need something like that.
Plex media server will stream all your content from home to your device!
Also maybe something like spotify that has a massive catalogue of music you can listen to instantly!

My point is, there are other ways round keeping all your music and movies and be able to access them.

Dont get me wrong tho i would buy the 128GB in a shot!

I have tried music & photo streaming software in the past. They worked good (before someone bought them and shut the services down). Still, I like having the space. I like that things are instantly there. I like having my entire music library backed up and stuck into my pocket. I like not needing to worry about my internet connection or worrying about where I may travel.

I'm a computer programmer. Getting a 16GB phone would be like trying to do my daily job on something like a netbook or iPad mini. Sometimes you simply need to go BIG!

 

[jordanogrady]

I'm a computer programmer. Getting a 16GB phone would be like trying to do my daily job on something like a netbook or iPad mini. Sometimes you simply need to go BIG!

So if you do your Dailey job on your pc/mac store it on that problem solved

 

[617aircav]

Yes I would. When my competitors ALL cost less than me for, on paper, much more powerful devices I would make a change.

Im sure apple will make the change, but right now they dont need to as their phones are selling like crazy. 16gb is still the entry standard on most smart phones. Very tiny percentage of consumers will spend a grand on a 128gb phone.

 

[eoblaed]

Seem's I haven't learned that. I bought a 16GB 4S because 16GB is enough form me. I never ubgraded my 1st Gen iPad and I don't need a faster computer. That's why I use notebooks. Technology has reached a sufficient performance level and usability is more important than specs for many of us. There maybe a new use of phones and computers down the road. But for the next few years many consumers like me are ok with the spec's that were available already 3 years ago.

Aside of that: yes, I believe it's a marketing strategy to keep the iPhone at 64GB to make people upgrade in a year to the iPhone 6. Apple is better off to wait until enough people have the need for 128GB.

My comment was addressing someone else's comment that was a modern day equivalent of the (probably apocryphal) quote "640k memory ought to be enough memory for anyone".

Clearly there are people who's usage patterns don't /require/ increases in capacity or performance ... but it's also just as clear that there are people's who's usability experience is greatly enhanced by those same increases. I just found the whole assertion that there should never be a reason to have 128GB in a mobile device silly on its face.