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16 GB Still Enough?

nviz22

nviz22

Cancelled
Original poster
Jun 24, 2013
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Is 16GB enough for a Nexus owner? I preordered the Nexus 5X w/ 16 GB thinking keeping costs down is important. I want to have the following in my android device: reliable software support, a good camera, fingerprint scanner, Android Pay support/NFC, a good processor, and a good form factor. What ways can I avoid having to pay $53.50 for more memory and then more for faster shipping?
 
16 GB is fine if the phone has a SD card slot and lets you transfer videos and pictures there.
 
Completely depends on your individual needs. My mom and wife don't need more than 16GB. I, on the other hand, need 64GB minimum and even then, that can be a stretch.
 
I think 16GB is pushing it, but for sure depends on usage. You might have 8GB-10GB left after installing apps. You will for sure need to do some shuffling with songs, videos and pictures. I don't think it is worth it.
 
nviz22 said:
Is 16GB enough for a Nexus owner? I preordered the Nexus 5X w/ 16 GB thinking keeping costs down is important. I want to have the following in my android device: reliable software support, a good camera, fingerprint scanner, Android Pay support/NFC, a good processor, and a good form factor. What ways can I avoid having to pay $53.50 for more memory and then more for faster shipping?
Click to expand...

If you take some pictures 16GB will sooner or later not be enough (e.g. my wife who sticks to 16GB iphone for 4 years and started realizing how 16GB is not so big).
I would not buy a phone with less than 128 GB
 
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Twixt said:
If you take some pictures 16GB will sooner or later not be enough (e.g. my wife who sticks to 16GB iphone for 4 years and started realizing how 16GB is not so big).
I would not buy a phone with less than 128 GB
Click to expand...

Most of my picture taking will be done with my 6S+. I am getting rid of my Note 5. I felt that $570 was too much for a second phone. Even $450 might be a stretch too.
 
No, it's not enough for 2015 because cellular signals are not reliable enough to use the cloud all the time and WiFi hotspots aren't in enough placed either. If you go to an event and you want to take lots of photos and videos, you need more then 16GB if you also want apps and games etc.
So it is not enough.

Then again that's just my opinion, some people will take the odd photo and don't have games or apps so 16GB is enough.
 
I'm completely disregarding the new Nexus devices. I saw that neither one of them will have user replaceable batteries or SD card expansion and that killed them both for me. That was one of the major reasons I went with Android over iphone when I got a smartphone for the first time in 2010. Not having expandable memory or being able to carry an extra battery with me is a massive issue. Hence why I love my Note 2. 16GB but I have a 64GB SD card in it and store my photos,videos and music on that. the internal memory is only for apps and 16GB is plenty for that only app I have that's huge is Hearthstone
 
Falcon16 said:
I'm completely disregarding the new Nexus devices. I saw that neither one of them will have user replaceable batteries or SD card expansion and that killed them both for me. That was one of the major reasons I went with Android over iphone when I got a smartphone for the first time in 2010. Not having expandable memory or being able to carry an extra battery with me is a massive issue. Hence why I love my Note 2. 16GB but I have a 64GB SD card in it and store my photos,videos and music on that. the internal memory is only for apps and 16GB is plenty for that only app I have that's huge is Hearthstone
Click to expand...

You have disregarded the Nexus for several years then.
 
I figured at some point google would figure out there was a resin why other devices sold better and that's because people want to carry a sparw battery or run an SD card as expansion without those features a phone is worthless to me
 
Falcon16 said:
I figured at some point google would figure out there was a resin why other devices sold better and that's because people want to carry a sparw battery or run an SD card as expansion without those features a phone is worthless to me
Click to expand...

I totally get it, but your phone choice is going to become quite limited here with those requirements.
 
I understand that but I'm not willing to fork out a ton more for a phone to get more memory when for years I've been able to add it myself. It's a step backward
 
I want 64 GB (internal storage) minimum next out for a smartphone. If it had a micro-sd up to 128 GB, the better. I can store like 100+ of my favorite movies and much more. I am tired of these OEM's jipping us with 16 GB storage only while packing larger resolution for the screen and camera which eats up on storage fast. 32 GB should have been the lowest common denominator three years ago.

The phone I am looking at is the Xiaomi Mi 4c. I am waiting on it to arrive in my country. The 4i is here and only cost less than $220. But I want Snapdragon 808 over 615. The 4i is like a smaller Mi 3 for me while the 4c has the same SoC as the LG G4 with the same size as 4i. Except knowing Xiaomi, they sell 16 GB only devices for those bargain prices. Meizu does this too. Good specs for a good price, but anemic storage options. So I will wait next year and look for a 64 GB OnePlus Three, an LG, or any phone with 64 GB internal storage with a good price.

I might stick to LG for removal battery and micro-sd slot. They are probably my fav OEM because of that. I want my phones to last and last. Not worry if the battery degrades that I need to upgrade. Like my favorite movies, my favorite phones are the ones that can endure on me. Ones I can still enjoy using five years from now.
 
kasakka said:
16 GB is fine if the phone has a SD card slot and lets you transfer videos and pictures there.
Click to expand...

Even with an SD card, 16GB internal storage can be insufficient.

The only reason I feel the need to upgrade my 2 year old phone is because it only has 16Gb built in storage, even thought it has an SD card (the 2 year old processor and camera don't bother me). Reason being not everything can go on an SD card. It's also becoming an annoying chore to micro-manage what goes onto the SD card on a per-app basis. If the phone could automatically manage the storage across internal and external memory, it might not be an issue. But it can't.

So any future phone I buy will have at least 32 GB internal storage regardless of whether it also has an SD card slot.
 
Agree that 16gb is not enough even with SD as the SD part is useless except for photos and music.

Android M will allow the SD card to be used as internal memory. However, Google say that this approach is not ideal and will result in everything being slower than proper internal memory. This is approx 1 year away anyway given how slow manufacturers are to update their software.

In short, just pay the little extra for at least 64gb.

Why do Android folks love the SD card so much? SD card would be fine if the Android manufacturers gave 64gb internal as standard. Instead they use the SD to get away with only selling 64gb max internal storage or even worse usually 32gb max eg Sony Z5 premium. I would prefer a 128gb Z5 premium at £100/£150 more.
 
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Essentially is 10gb going to be enough for you.

How many apps do you like to have installed ? Are any of them bigger games ?
How much music do you like to carry around ? Are you planning on shooting video especially at 4K


Even with just a few essential apps and how they swell over time you could be down to 6gb


Personally I went with 16gb for my first Moto X 2014 and it was a bad move. I don't game and only have music, few apps and shoot photos and not video and I still found myself having to manage storage more than I ever should. So I sold it and bought a 32gb and never had the issue again.
 
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16GB was fine 3-4years ago, but if you plan on keeping a smartphone for over a year, I'd say 32GB minimum.

I am a power user, and love having everything from old favourite music, music videos, movies etc... In my phone so I need at least 64GB.
 
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As a secondary phone 16 gb is more than enough.

Enjoy it in good health.
 
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Anything less than 32GB these days wouldn't suffice for my needs...so 16 is out of the equation!
 
I have 32gb micro cards in both my phone and tab (just got the new scandisk class 10s that came out a few weeks ago on that amazon fire sale). 16gb is not near enough for me, apps can get big especially after periodical updates (think chrome is damn near almost GB alone now), pics and vids especially on trips take up space so I that set to the micro sd, put HD movies on my tab that are over a GB etc. Just all adds up.
 
Falcon16 said:
I figured at some point google would figure out there was a resin why other devices sold better and that's because people want to carry a sparw battery or run an SD card as expansion without those features a phone is worthless to me
Click to expand...
It's why my last Nexus phone was a Nexus 4. I am planning on using my Note 4 and Note Edge for at least another year. Nothing beats being able to use a 128GB SD card in each PLUS changing the batteries out each day. I am not tied to a cord for a few hours.
 
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