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It's no different than the processor, RAM, and screen improvements being made without a price increase.

I agree. Storage is becoming even more cheap nowadays.

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2012/0...f-materials-costs-207-238-depending-on-model/

Yea, by the 5S, I think they definitely should be able to offer the 5S 32GB as the $199 model. The NAND storage required for the 32GB iPhone 5 costs as much as the 16GB iPhone 4S. They likely kept the storage/pricing options the same to absorb the other incremental increases of costs (wireless chip, ect.)
 
http://www.technobuffalo.com/2012/0...f-materials-costs-207-238-depending-on-model/

Yea, by the 5S, I think they definitely should be able to offer the 5S 32GB as the $199 model. The NAND storage required for the 32GB iPhone 5 costs as much as the 16GB iPhone 4S. They likely kept the storage/pricing options the same to absorb the other incremental increases of costs (wireless chip, ect.)

Apple will sell the 16gb for as long as they can, regardless of cost. This company doesn't play with its profit margin.
 
Apple will sell the 16gb for as long as they can, regardless of cost. This company doesn't play with its profit margin.

If they changed it to 32GB, their profit margin wouldn't change... it just wouldn't continue to increase to absurd levels as the prices of the components drop.

That, and as has been mentioned, with their competitors beginning to release 32GB phones as either the base model or at a far less expensive upgrade, by not matching the market, people will walk and their profits will drop.


The Samsung Galaxy S4 has been announced as $200 for the 16GB and $250 for the 32GB model.... while also offering expandable memory.

The HTC One will be $200 for 32GB, $300 for the 64GB.
 
Apple will sell the 16gb for as long as they can, regardless of cost. This company doesn't play with its profit margin.

I completely agree and realize this, but if you read the link I posted, you would realize that changing the entry level model to 32GB wouldn't affect profit margins as of even Fall 2012. Surely almost a year later, their contract prices will have fallen, if anything, meaning it is more plausible for them to introduce a 128GB model at $399, and make the 32GB model at the $199 price point.

If they changed it to 32GB, their profit margin wouldn't change... it just wouldn't continue to increase to absurd levels as the prices of the components drop.

That, and as has been mentioned, with their competitors beginning to release 32GB phones as either the base model or at a far less expensive upgrade, by not matching the market, people will walk and their profits will drop.


The Samsung Galaxy S4 has been announced as $200 for the 16GB and $250 for the 32GB model.... while also offering expandable memory.

The HTC One will be $200 for 32GB, $300 for the 64GB.

Completely agree, this is going to the be the year where 32GB becomes the new norm for smartphones, IMO. I really hope Apple doesn't drop the ball on falling behind by sticking with 16GB.
 
funny thinking about the storage on phones...my first computer (late for someone my age) was hand-built in the 90s and had 6GB HardDrive. my cousin said i will never fill it up more than half way.
 
I completely agree and realize this, but if you read the link I posted, you would realize that changing the entry level model to 32GB wouldn't affect profit margins as of even Fall 2012. Surely almost a year later, their contract prices will have fallen, if anything, meaning it is more plausible for them to introduce a 128GB model at $399, and make the 32GB model at the $199 price point.



Completely agree, this is going to the be the year where 32GB becomes the new norm for smartphones, IMO. I really hope Apple doesn't drop the ball on falling behind by sticking with 16GB.

Falling behind? Who has the 32gb as a standard model?
 
perhaps not now but since iPhones are yearly releases the competition could start the 32gb trend shortly after and then iPhones are left behind...better to get on the forefront of that.
 
Falling behind? Who has the 32gb as a standard model?

As has already been mentioned numerous times already in this thread, the HTC One and the Nokia Lumia 920 both ship with 32GB in their base model, while the Samsung Galaxy S4 will only charge an additional $50 to upgrade from the 16GB to the 32GB (while also allowing expandable storage).
 
I think it makes sense to do 32/64/128 with how flash memory keeps dropping in price.

Perhaps the rumoured "cheaper iPhone" would have 16GB and the main iPhone line would start at 32GB. That would set the models apart more than just the rumoured plastic casing.
 
I think this is likely... 32GB, 64GB, 128GB.. Need to stop all those android lovers with their SD card slot
 
I think what they are saying, and I agree, is apple had no need to increase the base storage. Why would they charge the same for more? Eventually it will happen buy not now.

They do (as do other OEMs) charge the same for more every year they increase the speed, battery life, camera quality, display quality and feature set of new phones....

It's only natural to think they'll bump up the storage as apps get bigger and memory gets cheaper.
 
They do (as do other OEMs) charge the same for more every year they increase the speed, battery life, camera quality, display quality and feature set of new phones....

It's only natural to think they'll bump up the storage as apps get bigger and memory gets cheaper.


Agreed, and to add to that. The operating system keeps getting bigger taking up storage space, and the quality of the camera keeps getting bigger and the pictures take up more space as well. My wife has over 9 gigs of spaces on her camera roll.

If you have kids you use the camera a lot, and she rarely uses a computer so she needs storage space.
 
This is Apple we're talking about. The only way you're getting 32GB on the 5S is by forking over more cash.
 
The iPhone 4S base model is 16GB right now, so it does kind of seem like this may happen.
 
The iPhone 4S base model is 16GB right now, so it does kind of seem like this may happen.

16GB of memory in the current iPhone models is hell on earth.

I have the 16GB iPhone 4s from launch day. Worst purchasing decision ever!!!! I will get the 5s model with the most storage space either 64GB or 128GB (if it is available). If I got the 64GB model back then, I would have no reason to upgrade now. But, I never ever have any storage space available any more. :mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
Vast majority of people don't need/want/even know about the GB on their phone, so no way Apple is going to eat that expense and put 32GB on their base model. Myself, I can't get buy without at least 32GB for all my music, let alone video files, but your average joe just calls and tweets and texts.
 
I think it makes sense to do 32/64/128 with how flash memory keeps dropping in price.

Perhaps the rumoured "cheaper iPhone" would have 16GB and the main iPhone line would start at 32GB. That would set the models apart more than just the rumoured plastic casing.

This.

I would greatly appreciate it if Apple bumped up the storage options to 32/64/128 at the current 16/32/64 price points.
 
This.

I would greatly appreciate it if Apple bumped up the storage options to 32/64/128 at the current 16/32/64 price points.
There is a huge market for consumers that buy 16Gb run out of storage, then upgrading to a higher storage 3-6 months later. I would not count on it
 
Vast majority of people don't need/want/even know about the GB on their phone, so no way Apple is going to eat that expense and put 32GB on their base model. Myself, I can't get buy without at least 32GB for all my music, let alone video files, but your average joe just calls and tweets and texts.

I agree with Sedrick. I would love it if Apple decided to make 32GB their base storage amount, but I don't see it happening.

If you went to a Starbucks and asked all the people standing on line with iPhones what model they had, at least half wouldn't know.

I eased Apple Retail Store sales associates what the most popular storage capacity is for the iPhone and they have replied that over half their sales are for 16GB storage.

I think the best we can hope for is a 128GB model. But I don't even see that happening unless Samsung starts offering the 64GB version of the Galaxy S4 here in the U.S.

Removable storage is nice, but the truth is that it is far easier to transfer files and apps between a computer or a service like Dropbox than it is to keep track of multiple micro SD cards.

Using Apple's typical pricing scheme, an iPhone 5S with 128GB of internal storage would sell for $950 off contract. That would put it pretty close to the 11" MacBook Air at $999 with the same amount of memory. So I can see how that would fit into Apple's pricing strategy.
 
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