I know this question has been asked a few times already, and realise that one can only answer it depending on their own usage and expectations. Thing is, I know my usage, but don't really know what storage size I should go for. To summarise:
- LTE coverage is pretty good where I live, meaning that having to rely on streaming and cloud storage is not a big deal.
- I use iCloud Photos (have a 200GB subscription), and don't mind having not having my photos locally (I prefer to view/edit them on my Mac/iPad anyway; the iPhone is just for taking the photos). The way I understand it though is that even with "optimise iPhone storage" on, it will still require at least enough storage to store a thumbnail for every photo/video, and I'm not sure how much storage that requires for larger libraries?
- I use Apple Music, and again don't mind streaming. Ideally, I'd like to keep around 4-8GB of music locally so that I can still listen to something if network access is temporarily lost.
- Don't watch movies/series on my phone; have a 256GB iPad Mini for that now.
- Won't play a lot of games on it; again, have other devices for that, but might want to keep 1 or 2 games on it anyway in case I ever need to kill time and don't have those other devices with me.
- Don't care about ProRes 4k (not available on the 128GB model), and in general won't be doing much (if any) video recording.
- I will be using this as my main (and only!) camera for photos though. For me, the camera system (more specifically, the inclusion of the telephoto lens) was the main reason to pick the 13 Pro over the 13 mini this year. I also plan to experiment with ProRAW (for certain photos that I intend to edit; 95+% of photos will still be taken in HEIF). I understand that ProRAW takes up a lot of storage, but was hoping that this would be a non-issue when combined with iCloud Photos?
- Given the large investment, I do plan to keep this phone for a few years (3-5, if possible). When I do the math now (i.e., very little capacity needed to store media locally, and probably enough remaining capacity for apps/data/iOS/...), it seems that 128GB is more than enough for my usage. The main reason I'm writing this post is because I'm not 100% sure that this will still be true 3+ years from now.
Due to my very cloud-oriented usage (and the fact that I use my Mac/iPad for more serious stuff), I initially thought that the 128GB model was a no-brainer (I mean, a little over a year ago, I was using -- though also struggling with -- a 32GB iPhone 7+). Hence, I ordered the 128GB 13 Pro (hasn't arrived yet), but I'm now wondering whether storage could ever become an issue in the long run if I intend to keep this phone for several years. Perhaps my worries are just a perception issue now that 128GB is the lowest storage tier on all 13 models. On top of that, I might have some irrational storage anxiety after having a bad experience with my 32GB iPhone 7+, where running out of storage basically forced me to upgrade (otherwise, I would have probably gladly kept that device for at least another year, perhaps even two) -- back then I went with 32GB because I thought that a 128GB iPhone 7+ would be complete overkill.
Since there is the 14-day return window, I could still return it and order the 256GB one (I can "stretch" my budget to buy this one if necessary, but €120 is a noticeable price increase for me). Any opinions?
- LTE coverage is pretty good where I live, meaning that having to rely on streaming and cloud storage is not a big deal.
- I use iCloud Photos (have a 200GB subscription), and don't mind having not having my photos locally (I prefer to view/edit them on my Mac/iPad anyway; the iPhone is just for taking the photos). The way I understand it though is that even with "optimise iPhone storage" on, it will still require at least enough storage to store a thumbnail for every photo/video, and I'm not sure how much storage that requires for larger libraries?
- I use Apple Music, and again don't mind streaming. Ideally, I'd like to keep around 4-8GB of music locally so that I can still listen to something if network access is temporarily lost.
- Don't watch movies/series on my phone; have a 256GB iPad Mini for that now.
- Won't play a lot of games on it; again, have other devices for that, but might want to keep 1 or 2 games on it anyway in case I ever need to kill time and don't have those other devices with me.
- Don't care about ProRes 4k (not available on the 128GB model), and in general won't be doing much (if any) video recording.
- I will be using this as my main (and only!) camera for photos though. For me, the camera system (more specifically, the inclusion of the telephoto lens) was the main reason to pick the 13 Pro over the 13 mini this year. I also plan to experiment with ProRAW (for certain photos that I intend to edit; 95+% of photos will still be taken in HEIF). I understand that ProRAW takes up a lot of storage, but was hoping that this would be a non-issue when combined with iCloud Photos?
- Given the large investment, I do plan to keep this phone for a few years (3-5, if possible). When I do the math now (i.e., very little capacity needed to store media locally, and probably enough remaining capacity for apps/data/iOS/...), it seems that 128GB is more than enough for my usage. The main reason I'm writing this post is because I'm not 100% sure that this will still be true 3+ years from now.
Due to my very cloud-oriented usage (and the fact that I use my Mac/iPad for more serious stuff), I initially thought that the 128GB model was a no-brainer (I mean, a little over a year ago, I was using -- though also struggling with -- a 32GB iPhone 7+). Hence, I ordered the 128GB 13 Pro (hasn't arrived yet), but I'm now wondering whether storage could ever become an issue in the long run if I intend to keep this phone for several years. Perhaps my worries are just a perception issue now that 128GB is the lowest storage tier on all 13 models. On top of that, I might have some irrational storage anxiety after having a bad experience with my 32GB iPhone 7+, where running out of storage basically forced me to upgrade (otherwise, I would have probably gladly kept that device for at least another year, perhaps even two) -- back then I went with 32GB because I thought that a 128GB iPhone 7+ would be complete overkill.
Since there is the 14-day return window, I could still return it and order the 256GB one (I can "stretch" my budget to buy this one if necessary, but €120 is a noticeable price increase for me). Any opinions?
