Other Any experience downgrading phone capacities?

[chipchen]

So the last several years I had been getting higher and higher GB iPhones. 128GB iPhone 7, 256 iPhone XS, etc... I don't have tons of media on my phone, just mainly photos, etc. So I'm wondering, has anyone had any experience buying and migrating to a LOWER GB iPhone?

I'm thinking about getting an iPhone 11 Pro 64GB. About 1.5 years ago I bit the bullet and purchased a higher iCloud plan, so I figure if all my photos are in iCloud, I shouldn't have an issue going to a lower plan and keeping most of my photos on iCloud?

Thoughts anyone?

 

[Natzoo]

I would start off by asking what is your current storage utilization on your iPhone, right now I’m using 76gb of 256gb since 128gb wasn’t an option. If you think you are going to have regrets, I wouldn’t downgrade. Is your iCloud plan getting close to full capacity? I had friends get the 64gb xs max while I went for the 256gb and they seemed to regret it because photos took quite a bit of space.

 

[chscag]

My needs have changed over the years. I used to pay for the higher capacities but now I and my wife are doing okay with 64 GB. It's not easy to go back in capacity since the worry is always there about not having enough.

 

[russell_314]

Just look at Settings/ General/ iPhone Storage to find out what you use. If you feel you want to keep pictures in the cloud or whatever do it on your current phone and see how much storage you use. This will give you an answer as to what you need. Most of my friends use 64 GB and are way below full but not everyone is like this. Only you know what you need and want.

 

[arfbsantoso]

So the last several years I had been getting higher and higher GB iPhones. 128GB iPhone 7, 256 iPhone XS, etc... I don't have tons of media on my phone, just mainly photos, etc. So I'm wondering, has anyone had any experience buying and migrating to a LOWER GB iPhone?

I'm thinking about getting an iPhone 11 Pro 64GB. About 1.5 years ago I bit the bullet and purchased a higher iCloud plan, so I figure if all my photos are in iCloud, I shouldn't have an issue going to a lower plan and keeping most of my photos on iCloud?

Thoughts anyone?

Using my 32GB i7 for years.
And basic icloud service.

No problem.

 

[now i see it]

The main things that gobble up space is videos, movies, pictures and stored music. Depending on how much of a fan you are of hoarding those things will determine how much space you need on your next phone.
Ive been using a 64gb iPhone for 5 years and always have at least 10gb free. But Id never buy a 64gb phone again. Its more fun keeping uncompressed videos instead of always having to cull old stuff in the photos app or compressing vids and tossing the huge originals.

 

[slimejester]

If I upgrade, I’ll probably go from a 256GB X to 64GB 12 Mini. Haven’t really taken advantage of the extra space.

 

[PlayUltimate]

Hmmm. . . interesting discussion. I have a 128GB iPhone 7+. Not sure what to do when I get a new phone.

 

[ssledoux]

I’m using 36 gb out of 64. I don’t store tons of music, have about 1500 pics/videos, and I’m good about culling excess and not keeping a bunch of stuff I don’t use/need.

 

[chipchen]

I would start off by asking what is your current storage utilization on your iPhone, right now I’m using 76gb of 256gb since 128gb wasn’t an option. If you think you are going to have regrets, I wouldn’t downgrade. Is your iCloud plan getting close to full capacity? I had friends get the 64gb xs max while I went for the 256gb and they seemed to regret it because photos took quite a bit of space.

I have 84GB used of 256GB, the vast amount of which is photos/videos. iCloud is 1TB of 2TB, so I figure I could just offload most of it to iCloud?

My needs have changed over the years. I used to pay for the higher capacities but now I and my wife are doing okay with 64 GB. It's not easy to go back in capacity since the worry is always there about not having enough.

Yea, I get it's not easy, but wondering if I'm just paying extra for the higher capacities when I don't need to be and most of my stuff could be offloaded to iCloud instead.

Just look at Settings/ General/ iPhone Storage to find out what you use. If you feel you want to keep pictures in the cloud or whatever do it on your current phone and see how much storage you use. This will give you an answer as to what you need. Most of my friends use 64 GB and are way below full but not everyone is like this. Only you know what you need and want.

True, but wanted to see if anyone had experience in this area to see what their thoughts were. I figure surely someone has done this before and either loved it or regretted it.

The main things that gobble up space is videos, movies, pictures and stored music. Depending on how much of a fan you are of hoarding those things will determine how much space you need on your next phone.
Ive been using a 64gb iPhone for 5 years and always have at least 10gb free. But Id never buy a 64gb phone again. Its more fun keeping uncompressed videos instead of always having to cull old stuff in the photos app or compressing vids and tossing the huge originals.

True, I like to be able to access all that stuff... but I don't do it often. AFAIK, iCloud still stores the full uncompressed even if it's streaming compressed right? So I don't actually LOSE it?

 

[russell_314]

I have 84GB used of 256GB, the vast amount of which is photos/videos. iCloud is 1TB of 2TB, so I figure I could just offload most of it to iCloud?



Yea, I get it's not easy, but wondering if I'm just paying extra for the higher capacities when I don't need to be and most of my stuff could be offloaded to iCloud instead.



True, but wanted to see if anyone had experience in this area to see what their thoughts were. I figure surely someone has done this before and either loved it or regretted it.



True, I like to be able to access all that stuff... but I don't do it often. AFAIK, iCloud still stores the full uncompressed even if it's streaming compressed right? So I don't actually LOSE it?

I understand what you mean but loving it or regretting it will be based on the specific needs of that person and these may be completely different than yours. If you don't establish what you actually can cut down to now you might end up regretting it. I really think you should try before you buy. Pretend your phone has 64 GB of storage and live like it does. iCloud will keep the full image or video and just have a thumbnail on your phone. I believe other services like Google photos keep a compressed version in the cloud so you might lose something if you go that route. If your network sucks or you have limited data with your phone plan this might be a problem should you decide you want to look at your pictures or videos.

 

[gnasher729]

I'm thinking about getting an iPhone 11 Pro 64GB. About 1.5 years ago I bit the bullet and purchased a higher iCloud plan, so I figure if all my photos are in iCloud, I shouldn't have an issue going to a lower plan and keeping most of my photos on iCloud?

Go on Settings, General, iPhone Storage, and look what memory are using. Then decide what you actually need.

For example, you will likely have all your photos on your phone in highest quality, in Settings you can change it to lower quality, and when you look at a photo, it's downloaded in higher quality. You can unload apps that you haven't used for a long time, you can get them back automatically.

If the total amount that you need is 40GB or less, then you can switch to a 64 GB phone. Above that I'd be careful.

 

[JUCJ85]

I think anyone who's seen my posts know that I'll never downgrade storage wise, if they make a 1TB I'm buying it, my iPad has 1TB.