iPad Is 128gb necessary / excessive?

[TacticalDesire]

I don't use my iPad for anything serious enough to justify that much storage. At most I use it for sending emails, creating a smaller document, and browsing the web. I only really listen to music when I'm working and for that I'm usually around wifi so streaming is a viable option as well as storing my documents in the cloud which are then synced back to my computer at home. If I know I'll be somewhere without reliable internet I keep around an iPod touch for such occasions. I only load TV shows and movies for when I travel and leave ample room for that if necessary. For anything that requires manipulating or organizing large files I use a laptop or better yet a desktop.

But only you know if you need that much space, if you store huge amounts of files locally or have a large media collection I'd say such a capacity is justified. Although it is your money and your decision so nobody on this forum is really in a position to tell you what to do. Another thing to consider is if you will be using it as your primary device or not. I got my mom a 64gb iPad 3 a while back since she would be using it to replace her ancient, disposable black Friday laptop.

 

[diamornte]

It's not excessive. I already am maxed out on space and wish they made a 1TB iPad Air.

 

[alphaod]

Sure. I keep about a dozen movies in 1080p, a few full seasons of TV shows.

That way when I go on a trip, I can just connect it to a TV and watch a movie or something, or burn through a 14 hour transpac.

 

[nikusak]

I'm ready to upgrade my iPad2 16gb to a new iPad (probably mini retina) would like more storage space but trying to decide if the 128gb is really worth the very expensive price tag (I budget $30 a week for personal purchases)... I do hope this to be a long term purchase so I'm tempted to get the best option possible but since I do primarily use where I can access Wi-Fi and stream purchases thru the cloud I'm wondering if a 32gb or 64gb would be a smarter choice and not one I'd regret soon... any tips / advice would be helpful, thanks all

Well, how did you find the 16GB on your iPad 2?

Were you constantly running out of space and felt that more is needed?

Are you going to start doing something totally different on your next iPad, i.e. something which requires lots of storage?

If not, then 128GB is just a waste of money for you. However, I would definitely avoid the 16GB version though.

When it comes to making a long term purchase, keep in mind that the current gen iPads have only 1GB of RAM which doesn't make it very future proof. If you want a future proof iPad, wait for a one which has 2GB of RAM.

I have a 64GB Air myself. I used to have a 32GB iPad 2 before. I was never even close to filling that one either (always 5-6GB free) and now I have used something like 20GB, mostly for apps or big games I never use. The 32GB model has perhaps something like 26-27GB available, you can probably find the exact figure here if you search.

 

[JackieInCo]

I bought the 128GB cellular Retina Mini just because I have a music collection large enough to fill. That was the first thing I did when I brought it home and synced it. I had 10GB left to add apps and pictures, leaving about 4GB free since there is 115GB of actual space on the 128GB.

I later decided to remove about 20GB of music that I simply rarely or have never listened to ever because I also like to download TV shows and movies from the cloud. Now I have 10,000+ songs on it. I love the idea of being able to just listen to anything that I want and add anything I want without worrying about space.

If you can afford it and can fill the space, do it.

iOS devices have a problem right now that if you stream videos from the cloud, it builds up in a cache and the "other" space when seen in iTunes will grow and grow. Many people have theirs at 10GB-even 50GB before they realize they are out of space and go on the Apple forums to complain. The common thread is that they have all streamed from the cloud. I don't and my other is 2.93GB.

 

[WilliamLondon]

My gen 1 iPad was 64GB and I never came close to filling it, then my gen 1 mini was 32GB and I was forever having to manage apps, moving them on and off constantly.

I don't keep music or videos on my iPad, but with all the great apps and many games reaching quite large sizes, this time I went with the 128GB rMini so I'd not have to worry about space limitations for quite awhile as I plan to keep this rMini for a few years hopefully.

With books and stuff for school and all the rest I've used 1/2 the space already, so I'm definitely glad I popped for the max storage, I'll never regret that decision I'm sure and always be happy I spent the extra money.

 

[dsampley]

I use about half of my iPad 128gb iPad, A lot of that space is used by apps as I don't normally store any music or videos on my iPad. It is nice to have that space at times to download a movie so I don't have to stream it.