Apple's Base 128GB iPhone Storage Tier Needs to Go

[Kal Madda]

Well yes it is.
Did Apple not actually bring the sd card slot back to the new MacBooks because customers complained so they had to back track

They added it again, but on a device that’s much thicker and larger, and only because more people are likely to use SD cards on a laptop than on a phone. A MacBook is radically different from an iPhone. It isn’t waterproof or dust proof, doesn’t have to pack as many components in as efficiently, and is a lot bigger, and some photographers never switched to other storage options for cameras, so they likely added it back for those photographers/videographers, not as a way to expand internal storage. They certainly aren’t marketing it that way. And I think with good reason. SD cards are notoriously unreliable, corrupt and lose data very easily, and I would never rely on an SD card as part of my phone’s storage, nor would I be able to recommend doing so to others in good faith. So basically it’s only use that I could possibly advocate for would be transferring photos or files as a temporary storage device from something like a camera to the built-in device storage, which is not what people in this forum thread are talking about. I would absolutely never recommend SD cards even from the best of brands as a long term storage solution, because when they fail there’s not much to be done to recover the data, it’s basically just gone forever… And they have a terrible failure rate, they’re just way too unreliable…

PS, and if you’re arguing that Apple doesn’t have an SD card slot on the iPhone because it would kill storage upgrades, then the MacBook Pro proves that thinking wrong. Apple still provides storage upgrade configurations, and people still buy them for the MacBook Pro.

 

[Rainbow Apple]

Batteries in iPhones can be replaced and often are.

By someone in a shop, with special training and tools. Not by the end user, and certainly not while the end user is out-and-about!

The janky “crack open my phone (which btw is cheap and crappy plastic rather than aluminum and glass) to stick a different battery in there” idea is a crap-droid special, not something that most iPhone users would be interested in.

Until now, it's been point and counter-point with you and me. An exchange of ideas. But "crap-droid", what am I supposed to do with that? What idea is in there for me to make a counter-point to? The idea iPhone users are the elite, and Android users are not?

I hope I'm misunderstanding you here, but it sounds like that's what you're saying! It sounds like you're saying plastic is "cheep and crappy", and not for elite. That glass is for the elite, despite being an insulator, and making the phone more prone to overheating. It sounds like you're interested in the iPhone being a status symbol, made out of glass (both literally and figuratively), rather then in the iPhone being a useful tool for its users.

Besides, you're the one who said that iPhone users wanted more battery life. I point out that the technology exists for iPhone users to get way more battery life, to pop in a charged battery and get an immediate 100% charge. And that's "crap-droid"?

Again, an SD card slot has never existed on any iPhone, yet it’s one of the most successful products in the world, so clearly most iPhone customers don’t seem to care about a silly SD card port

Let's go back in time to 2007:

"Apple has never made a cell phone, yet it’s one of the most successful companies in the world, so clearly most Apple customers don’t seem to care about a silly smartphone when they can do real work on a Mac".

We'd never have gotten the iPhone in the first place, with that mindset!

[N]o other smartphone with an SD card slot uses a plate with gaskets and screws over it. It would be too hard to access. Instead, other smartphone brands use fragile port covers that easily break, and are still somewhat of a nuisance to open, though less than removing screws.

I think the Conquest F2 does; I think its battery and SD card reader are accessible via a gasket-and-screw system. And not just any kind of screw, but nice screws! Screws which can be opened with just a coin, and don't fall out of the phone even after you unscrew them.

But even if you're right, even if no other smartphone does that: Apple's an innovator, so let Apple innovate. Let Apple be the first! Let the iPhone be the first smartphone to have the fastest of all fast-charging systems, and more disk space then ever before, without comprising on water and dust resistance.

 

[Kal Madda]

By someone in a shop, with special training and tools. Not by the end user, and certainly not while the end user is out-and-about!

Until now, it's been point and counter-point with you and me. An exchange of ideas. But "crap-droid", what am I supposed to do with that? What idea is in there for me to make a counter-point to? The idea iPhone users are the elite, and Android users are not?

I hope I'm misunderstanding you here, but it sounds like that's what you're saying! It sounds like you're saying plastic is "cheep and crappy", and not for elite. That glass is for the elite, despite being an insulator, and making the phone more prone to overheating. It sounds like you're interested in the iPhone being a status symbol, made out of glass (both literally and figuratively), rather then in the iPhone being a useful tool for its users.

Besides, you're the one who said that iPhone users wanted more battery life. I point out that the technology exists for iPhone users to get way more battery life, to pop in a charged battery and get an immediate 100% charge. And that's "crap-droid"?

Let's go back in time to 2007:

"Apple has never made a cell phone, yet it’s one of the most successful companies in the world, so clearly most Apple customers don’t seem to care about a silly smartphone when they can do real work on a Mac".

We'd never have gotten the iPhone in the first place, with that mindset!

I think the Conquest F2 does; I think its battery and SD card reader are accessible via a gasket-and-screw system. And not just any kind of screw, but nice screws! Screws which can be opened with just a coin, and don't fall out of the phone even after you unscrew them.

But even if you're right, even if no other smartphone does that: Apple's an innovator, so let Apple innovate. Let Apple be the first! Let the iPhone be the first smartphone to have the fastest of all fast-charging systems, and more disk space then ever before, without comprising on water and dust resistance.

Nope, by the end user. Many have done it, and it’s fairly simple. I’ve done it myself on several iPhones. It isn’t that hard. Something you can do on the go? No, but that doesn’t make any sense to me. If you’re going to carry a separate battery, why not make it instead a thin and lightweight MagSafe battery that can completely recharge the iPhone twice instead? Much easier than cracking open the phone, and that much more battery…

“Crapdroid” isn’t about the users, it’s about the quality of the product. Many perfectly good and fine people use crappy quality products. We live in a world surrounded by crappy products. But some products are specifically built to be quality. The iPhone is one such high quality premium product. Plastic isn’t a high quality material. Aluminum and glass are. Real metal, and real glass are more premium materials than cheap plastic that cracks easily and feels horrible in the hands. Premium products like the iPhone aren’t made of plastic. Cheap crap is made of plastic, hence the term “crapdroid”. Sure, some Android flagships have adopted metal to imitate Apple, and those are more premium. But plastic phones are cheap and low quality… And no, iPhones aren’t more prone to overheating, in fact the hottest feeling phones I’ve ever held have always been plastic. And no, I’m not interested in the iPhone being a “status symbol”, I’m in favor of it continuing to be a high quality premium product and not some bargain bin crap…

It’s very simple, and it doesn’t require opening the phone at all… It’s called MagSafe, and it works wonderfully, and better than the hassle of trying to juggle several pieces of your phone while you struggle to remove a battery and insert a different one…

And we’ve already been over how limited in utility a microSD card slot would be in the iPhone. SD cards are notoriously unreliable for anything other than short term storage, like transferring photos from a camera to a computer. And that’s essentially the only place SD cards are really in widespread use anymore that I’m aware of, and even that is being phased out and replaced with newer storage solutions in newer high-end cameras. SD cards are not a reliable long term storage solution, I could never in good conscience recommend anyone use SD cards for long term storage like in a phone to “expand” storage. It just stand far too high of a chance of that data being corrupted and/or lost. And as I pointed out earlier, who is the customer going to blame, the SD card or the iPhone? Who’s going to get hundreds to thousands of support calls from ignorant people blaming Apple for losing their data or “damaging” their card? For a brand focused on quality and reliability, this would be bad. And ultimately for users it would also be very bad, because end users doing so would likely end up losing their files and data. It’s just not a good idea, and that’s why flagship models from other phone “competitors” have dropped such SD card slots as well. Much better to use all that internal space that would waste with other hardware iPhone users actually do care about…

 

[Rainbow Apple]

the hottest feeling phones I’ve ever held have always been plastic

That means the plastic is doing its job, and venting heat! That is: The plastic is removing heat from the phone, and transferring it to the air (or your hand in this case). If it were glass: The phone would not have felt as hot, became more of the heat would have been trapped inside of the phone itself. That said, it's my understanding that aluminum is better at verting heat then plastic. But plastic is much better then glass.

I still say that you're much too hard on plastic! Just because "cheep crap" (in your words) use plastic, doesn't mean that plastic itself is bad. I think you're mistaking correlation for causation there. And remember, there are different ways to make plastic. Some plastic is brittle, and will break if you sneeze on it. Some plastic is tough.

But okay, you're not coming off as so elitist now. Or rather, not so much as the bad kind of elitist. There was a relative of mine who complained that things were "too utilitarian", as if being useful to the user is a bad thing. That is how those bad elitists think! They're for style over substance.

Nope, by the end user. Many have done it, and it’s fairly simple. I’ve done it myself on several iPhones. It isn’t that hard.

Even I haven't done it, and if even I haven't done it: It's beyond the skills of most normal iPhone users! User-replicable batteries, with a coin (to serve as a screwdriver) and not a heat-gun, would be a lot more user-friendly.

It’s very simple, and it doesn’t require opening the phone at all… It’s called MagSafe, and it works wonderfully, and better than the hassle of trying to juggle several pieces of your phone while you struggle to remove a battery and insert a different one…

And it's good that that option exists! But a battery charging another battery will always be less efficient, then directly charging the battery. Not to mention the need to leave the charger (even if it's portable) attached to your iPhone.

SD cards are notoriously unreliable for anything other than short term storage

If you're right, then SD cards themselves are due for an upgrade! I see no reason the world of computers should not have something akin to SD cards. A disk you can easily insert into your laptop, MP3 player, or whatever, and then just treat as a permanent disk which lives on that computer. Just make better SD cards, which aren't so prone to data loss. And for extra safety: Have two SD card readers, so that the computer can automatically use one to back up the data of the other (and of the hard disk).

I could never in good conscience recommend anyone use SD cards for long term storage like in a phone to “expand” storage. It just stand far too high of a chance of that data being corrupted and/or lost.

I wound not recommend that anyone use any disk, cloud-storage, or whatever, as the only place where he keeps his important files. Always have at least one spare copy of anything you really don't want to lose!

[Short term storage is] essentially the only place SD cards are really in widespread use anymore that I’m aware of, and even that is being phased out and replaced with newer storage solutions in newer high-end cameras.

My main computer is a laptop-tablet hybrid, with both a desktop and mobile OS (Windows and Android). Two OS's on the same computer ate up a lot of space on the hard disk, and the hard disk is not replicable (it's soldered-in). However, my computer has a built-in SD card reader, so I use a 1 TB (1000 GB) SD card as if it were a second hard disk.

 

[frownface]

i don't disagree at all, but where's the rumour??

 

[Kal Madda]

That means the plastic is doing its job, and venting heat! That is: The plastic is removing heat from the phone, and transferring it to the air (or your hand in this case). If it were glass: The phone would not have felt as hot, became more of the heat would have been trapped inside of the phone itself. That said, it's my understanding that aluminum is better at verting heat then plastic. But plastic is much better then glass.

I still say that you're much too hard on plastic! Just because "cheep crap" (in your words) use plastic, doesn't mean that plastic itself is bad. I think you're mistaking correlation for causation there. And remember, there are different ways to make plastic. Some plastic is brittle, and will break if you sneeze on it. Some plastic is tough.

But okay, you're not coming off as so elitist now. Or rather, not so much as the bad kind of elitist. There was a relative of mine who complained that things were "too utilitarian", as if being useful to the user is a bad thing. That is how those bad elitists think! They're for style over substance.

Even I haven't done it, and if even I haven't done it: It's beyond the skills of most normal iPhone users! User-replicable batteries, with a coin (to serve as a screwdriver) and not a heat-gun, would be a lot more user-friendly.

And it's good that that option exists! But a battery charging another battery will always be less efficient, then directly charging the battery. Not to mention the need to leave the charger (even if it's portable) attached to your iPhone.

If you're right, then SD cards themselves are due for an upgrade! I see no reason the world of computers should not have something akin to SD cards. A disk you can easily insert into your laptop, MP3 player, or whatever, and then just treat as a permanent disk which lives on that computer. Just make better SD cards, which aren't so prone to data loss. And for extra safety: Have two SD card readers, so that the computer can automatically use one to back up the data of the other (and of the hard disk).

I wound not recommend that anyone use any disk, cloud-storage, or whatever, as the only place where he keeps his important files. Always have at least one spare copy of anything you really don't want to lose!


My main computer is a laptop-tablet hybrid, with both a desktop and mobile OS (Windows and Android). Two OS's on the same computer ate up a lot of space on the hard disk, and the hard disk is not replicable (it's soldered-in). However, my computer has a built-in SD card reader, so I use a 1 TB (1000 GB) SD card as if it were a second hard disk.

I think there’s a reason that most phone manufacturers have followed Apple’s lead and adopted metal and glass on their flagship models rather than plastic…

Just because you haven’t done it doesn’t mean it’s not fairly simple and straightforward. Look it up on iFixit. It’s a pretty simple process. I’ve done it myself numerous times. And I think Best Buy charges something like $50 for a battery replacement, which is only a bit more than what the battery itself costs. The rates for battery replacements aren’t usually that expensive.

MagSafe chargers are far more convenient for most people than opening their phone’s casing to replace a battery (even if you could do so with a coin as you talk about). It’s just far simpler and more convenient for end users to magnetize a little shim to the back of the phone. Hence why you see way more people using MagSafe chargers than I ever saw try to replace the battery in their phone on the go. I worked with a guy who did that with his phone, it was an absolute pain in the butt for him, it took him like over a minute fumbling around with stuff to do it. With MagSafe it’s extremely fast and simple. And yes, you do have it attached to the back of your phone, but it really doesn’t interfere with using the phone at all. And it generally charges pretty fast.

Companies have tried making better SD cards, the current ones, if you can imagine it, are actually supposed to be “more reliable” even though they still are notoriously unreliable. I think it’s just inherent to the size and flash storage type. It can be very finicky, and it corrupts so easily. By the time you have two SD card slots, now you’re killing even more valuable space inside the phone, and it makes even less sense. Many of the other phone manufacturers have figured out that Apple was right on this and have dropped SD card slots from their flagships as well. SD cards are kind of on their way out, it would be like adding a CD drive or floppy drive on a modern Mac. It just doesn’t make much sense because it’s an increasingly antiquated and niche thing…

 

[Rainbow Apple]

Just because you haven’t done it doesn’t mean it’s not fairly simple and straightforward. Look it up on iFixit.

Here's an iFixit article, and here's an excerpt from step #20 of 38:

Use the pointed end a spudger or a clean fingernail to pry the display connector up from its socket on the logic board.

If disassembling the phone and then prying cables is "simple and straightforward", I'm Steve Jobs!

 

[Kal Madda]

Here's an iFixit article, and here's an excerpt from step #20 of 38:

If disassembling the phone and then prying cables is "simple and straightforward", I'm Steve Jobs!

Android flagships require a similar process to replace batteries as well. And unplugging some cables isn’t that big of a deal. As to “disassembling the phone”, it’s two screws and a spudger and/or suction cup tool. I’ve done it at least 3 times for other people before I knew about how cheap it was for places like Best Buy to replace them. It’s not as if the battery is soldered in or something, it just requires a couple of cables unplugged. Besides, if someone doesn’t want to do that, they can pay a place like Best Buy to do it for only a bit more than the cost of the battery itself….

I have an iPhone from 5 years ago that’s still running strong on the original battery. It’s not as if the batteries in iPhones constantly need replaced every year or something.

The competing phone manufacturers seem to be realizing what many iPhone customers have known for a while: that Apple’s been doing it right all along, as Apple’s market share increases and becomes more successful. That’s why their flagship phone models are copying the iPhone in so many different ways.

 

[VaruLV]

So the rational thing to do for you, would be to stop being loyal and buy something else?

If Apple isn't providing enough value for the prices they charge, why are you still a customer?

My answer is pretty simple - I bought an iPhone 12 Mini as my first iPhone, main reason being nothing to do with Apple and everything to do with size of the phone. Throughout years Mini was swapped with gf who couldn't use work issued much larger iPhone XS, so I got that one, then it broke and I got iPhone 11 as replacement.
I will be using my iPhone 11 until it either breaks or until Samsung releases Flip/Fold 7 series and I will sell my iPhone to Samsungs buyback program and be done with its slow speed and crappy bugs with latest iOS.

Happy?

 

[VaruLV]

But this just isn’t correct, but especially not in relation to storage.
The main stream iPhone has always hover around $599-799 since 2010, yet the storage has gone from 8 to 16 to 32 to 64 to 128 GB.
Even the pro iPhone has been at the same $999 starting price for the last eight years yet the storage has doubled.

Perhaps not in USA, but in many other markets iPhone prices have inflated significantly during past 5 years at least.

 

[webkit]

Perhaps not in USA, but in many other markets iPhone prices have inflated significantly during past 5 years at least.

Yes (although maybe not "significantly") and these price changes are usually due to exchange rate fluctuations. There have been various markets outside the U.S. that have seen iPhone prices increase as well as decrease over the years while U.S. prices were unchanged, again because of exchange rate fluctuations.

 

[VaruLV]

Yes (although maybe not "significantly") and these price changes are usually due to exchange rate fluctuations. There have been various markets outside the U.S. that have seen iPhone prices increase as well as decrease over the years while U.S. prices were unchanged, again because of exchange rate fluctuations.

Yeah, well, I would like to see what Americans would say if suddenly all iPhone models would increase in price 100-200$, that's what Europeans are used to, regardless of inflation or currency fluctuations, we have to pay out of our pockets more for an iPhones regardless.
Some markets more, some less.

 

[Kal Madda]

Yeah, well, I would like to see what Americans would say if suddenly all iPhone models would increase in price 100-200$, that's what Europeans are used to, regardless of inflation or currency fluctuations, we have to pay out of our pockets more for an iPhones regardless.
Some markets more, some less.

And that isn’t Apple’s fault, that’s due to economic factors in the EU and exchange rates.

 

[webkit]

Yeah, well, I would like to see what Americans would say if suddenly all iPhone models would increase in price 100-200$, that's what Europeans are used to

Pricing of foreign goods in the U.S. see fluctuations due to exchange rates too. It doesn't just go one way.

regardless of inflation or currency fluctuations, we have to pay out of our pockets more for an iPhones regardless.
Some markets more, some less.

Most of that is due to the high VAT in European countries. Using Italy as just one example, the pre-VAT price for a 128GB iPhone 16 in Italy is around €796. €796 at the current exchange rate is around $821 USD. That's actually slightly lower than the $829 USD pre-sales tax price for the same phone in the U.S. I repeat, the pre-VAT price in Italy is lower than the pre-sales tax price in the U.S.

 

[davidg4781]

Ha! I just checked my 256 GB iPhone 14 Pro Max's storage, and it looks like yours -- I have 186.68 GB free. I didn't get the 128 GB model because I thought it wouldn't be enough. Other than making phone calls, listening to music, and browsing the web when I'm out and about, I take a lot of photos and videos. I also have iCloud backup, though, and I don't keep my entire music collection on my phone, as I did in the early days. For most of my computing needs, I use my MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. My wife, on the other hand, lives on her phone, rarely uses her iPad anymore (she's content with her 2017 regular iPad), and only uses her 2019 iMac when she absolutely needs a bigger screen. After she filled up her 128 GB iPhone 13 Pro Max, I got her a 512 GB iPhone 15 Pro Max, just to be safe.

I think you still made a good choice. Maybe you could've squeezed by with a 128 GB one but as your library keeps growing, it affects your experience. Photos have to download full quality ones whenever you send them to someone. You struggle a bit if you want to download movies for a trip. Little things that just keep it from being seamless.

 

[Ray2]

Remember when 16GB felt like an ocean of storage on the original iPhone? Those were simpler times. Apple initially offered the OG device in storage capacities of 4GB and 8GB, but just months after launching, Apple nixed the 4GB model, eventually replacing it with a 16GB option. Fast forward to 2025, and Apple offers 128GB as the base storage tier for most iPhone 16 models. That might sound like a lot by comparison, but it's becoming genuinely problematic for users caught in an increasingly aggressive AI storage squeeze.

Indeed, with the recent release of iOS 18.3, this AI storage creep was brought into sharp focus. Apple Intelligence, the company's enabled-by-default suite of AI features, now requires a whopping 7GB of storage space – and that's just the beginning. With iOS 18.4 on the horizon promising enhanced Siri capabilities – and iOS 19 likely to deliver more on-device AI models – these storage requirements are only going to grow.

For perspective, iOS 18.3 takes nearly 6% of a 128GB iPhone's total storage capacity and dedicates it to AI features that the user may not even use. And that's before they've even taken their first photo or downloaded their first app. Speaking of photos, a standard iPhone 16 can capture 48MP images and shoot 4K Dolby Vision video at 60fps, which can quickly devour storage, as many users will attest. If it's an iPhone 16 Pro Max, the advanced camera capabilities are even more demanding of solid-state space.

In fairness, Apple has acknowledged the need for more storage in its top-tier iPhone 16 Pro Max, which starts at 256GB. Apple first nixed the 128GB storage tier for its largest device when the iPhone 15 Pro Max was released in 2023. This suggests the company understands that storage demands are increasing, making its decision to stick this long with 128GB for other models all the more perplexing. Or perhaps not, given that it still gleefully sells the iPhone SE in a 64GB configuration!

Meanwhile, Apple's continued offering of just 5GB of free iCloud storage simply adds insult to injury. Believe it or not, that figure hasn't changed since iCloud's introduction in 2011. Most would agree it's a measly amount that forces many users to either pay for additional cloud storage or constantly manage their local storage.

The technology industry has evolved significantly since 128GB became a standard storage tier. Component prices have decreased, while storage demands have skyrocketed, and AI features are only going to get more prevalent. Just as Apple made 16GB the new baseline for MacBook memory late last year (a move also likely made due to Apple Intelligence's RAM requirements), it's time for the company to make a similar leap with iPhone storage. Such a move would be far from unprecedented – remember the 4GB iPhone?

• 20+ Ways to Free Up iPhone Storage

In the year 2025, 128GB is the new 4GB. Users deserve better than paying $100-500 extra just to avoid the storage anxiety that comes with downloading a bigger (but not necessarily better) software update. These days, 128GB isn't just tight — it's becoming untenable. So please Apple, make 256GB the new minimum, starting with the iPhone 17 lineup. Better yet, bring it to the upcoming iPhone SE 4.

Article Link: Apple's Base 128GB iPhone Storage Tier Needs to Go

I think the vast majority of iPhone buyers wouldn’t know what to do with 64gb. My point-of-reference is a partner in a major worldwide firm that depends heavily on her phone. Her current SE3 was when she jumped from 32 to 64gb. She probably uses her phone far more than most of the participants in this thread. It’s good to have storage tiers for some of us but not all users are reading Apple tech forums or chasing the latest tech. They use their smartphones as communication devices and that’s pretty much all. How novel, calling a phone an “iPhone”.

 

[Ray2]

Pricing of foreign goods in the U.S. see fluctuations due to exchange rates too. It doesn't just go one way.




Most of that is due to the high VAT in European countries. Using Italy as just one example, the pre-VAT price for a 128GB iPhone 16 in Italy is around €796. €796 at the current exchange rate is around $821 USD. That's actually slightly lower than the $829 USD pre-sales tax price for the same phone in the U.S. I repeat, the pre-VAT price in Italy is lower than the pre-sales tax price in the U.S.

Probably worth noting they also pay a fraction of the price for cellular service than Americans. The wonders of a competitive landscape where corporations can’t buy politicians (as openly) and arbitrary tariffs don’t protect them (as much)