Kind of regretting not getting the 64GB

[Captain America]

So I ordered my 32GB earlier this afternoon (still in processing for whatever reason). I was pokin around a few threads, and I was surprised to see how many people are getting the 64GB version. Reasons seem to vary from newer and larger apps to photo/video related concerns, to just plain old futureproofing.

Did I make a mistake by not purchasing the 64GB version? And if so, could I go back and change it? Also, what would the total be (for a new line w/ the lowest data plan to get me the upgrade prices). I know the 32GB is floating somewhere in the $350s so I'm guessing the 64GB would be in the $450s?

 

[Roessnakhan]

It's a person-to-person preference.

I've gotten a 16GB iPhone since the 3GS (I believe), and I've never felt cramped for space. I have 90GB+ of music, but only listen to about 9GB on a given rotation, books take up a very small amount of space, and I consistently have about 2GB free for photos and videos.

In the future I might go to a 32GB as the iPhone slowly replaces a point-and-shoot camera.

I think in your case you didn't make a mistake, but I know a lot of people want everything in their pocket, so like I said its a person-to-person preference.

 

[EvoNiner1986]

I wouldn't worry too much about it...Accept your 32 and use it daily without much thought. When it comes time where there's not any space left, you'll have certain options to free up space (clean up apps, save photos to computer, etc)

 

[MR1324]

It depends on the individual. I would be fine with an 8GB iPhone 4S if phone existed. If you look at where the tech industry is headed in terms of storage, a lot of things will be in the cloud. Because of this, I think the majority of people never even use up all their space.

 

[ZBoater]

It would constantly nag me to no end knowing I could've had 64GB but I only have 32GB and no way to upgrade. I'd be losing sleep over this....

 

[NoHo]

I've always felt that you should always get the biggest hard drive available for any device that isn't expandable.

It's just worth it for the peace of mind.

The 64gb is going to be a MACHINE. You can carry your whole life on it.

 

[Don Kosak]

iCloud is going to have a big impact on the need for storage.

We're just at the very first 1.0 version of iCloud too -- so I expect that Apple will grow the service over time. It's hard to imagine what iCloud version 10 will look like.

If you have a 4GB+ data plan, or you frequently are near WiFi, I think you can get away with a much smaller phone storage. 16GB is probably fine, even for shooting 1080p video.

The more you're off-line, on long plane flights, or roaming internationally with a 25 cent per 100 Kilobyte roaming charge -- then you may want more storage on the local device.

 

[dieburnbot]

32 GB should be good enough, you might have to take stuff of it sooner and back it up (aka if you take a lot of pics or videos), but it shouldn't be too inconvenient. I got the 64 GB because I'm too lazy to plug my phone in lol. I have 6 GB free on my 32 GB iPhone 4. I could easily take photos and videos off of it and free up a lot of space, but I don't feel like it. So unless you like to carry around A LOT of songs or something, I don't really see the 32GB being too shabby.

As for the 16GB no way I could ever live with that. I don't know how some of you do it.

 

[NoHo]

iCloud is going to have a big impact on the need for storage.

We're just at the very first 1.0 version of iCloud too -- so I expect that Apple will grow the service over time. It's hard to imagine what iCloud version 10 will look like.

If you have a 4GB+ data plan, or you frequently are near WiFi, I think you can get away with a much smaller phone storage. 16GB is probably fine, even for shooting 1080p video.

The more you're off-line, on long plane flights, or roaming internationally with a 25 cent per 100 Kilobyte roaming charge -- then you may want more storage on the local device.

Yup totally. Data is going to be at a premium in the very near future. 2gb tiered may be enough for people now, but it won't always be enough. If people have unlimited data, they should never give it up. It's going to be worth gold as more data is being used.

 

[Jswoosh]

Yeah I decided to go for the 64gb because my 4 was constantly running out of room. At one point I had 100mb free and it was causing my phone to be very slow. So i've deleted a lot of things since then and now I'm at about 2 GB free. Just get what you think you'll need for the future. Simple enough right? haha

 

[LizKat]

I'd stick with what you already did, it will be fine. 32GB is fairly roomy. I have the 32GB 3GS now and for the upgrade went for the 64GB. But if my budget had been more thrashed when I made up my mind, I might even have dropped down to the 16GB size for the 4S upgrade. All i knew for sure was that I didn't want to skip another upgrade since I already skipped the 4. I don't like to get too far behind the curve of iPhone tech as it continues to evolve. That's more important to me than how much room I buy on a particular iPhone.

I hasten to say that I don't resell my devices. That would affect my decision. But 32GB is resellable for sure.

I do think it's good to go for the most memory one can afford at a given time, but "can afford" are definitely the key words for me. I'm not going to be happy skipping the beans that go with the rice if I spring for more space on a gadget at some time when my checkbook is flirting with the red zone. I like my gizmos but I really love being able to put some beans with the rice!

 

[kappaknight]

I've always felt that you should always get the biggest hard drive available for any device that isn't expandable.

It's just worth it for the peace of mind.

The 64gb is going to be a MACHINE. You can carry your whole life on it.

What's the point if most people upgrade their phones in a year or two? Something will definitely be bigger in the near future and most of us don't fill up the hard drives in that period of time.

I've always gotten the lower end (8GB and 16GB) iPhones and iPhone 4 and have been fine. This year I decided to jump to 64GB for myself because we just had a baby and my current phone actually filled up for the first time with pictures and movies. Honestly, I will most likely not even get close to using 32GB but seeing how this is the first year of her life and I've always been taking a ton of pics, I wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

To the OP, you picked what you thought fit your life and that's great. Just because a bunch of people bought something online, doesn't mean you need it. If that were the case, everyone here would have top of the line MBA's, iPad 2's, and MBP's and everything else.

Who knows, maybe once the iPhone 5 or newer comes out, I'll probably end up getting a 32GB due to me over estimating this year.

 

[aneftp]

everyone is different. i looked at my wife's iphone 4 (32gb) and she still has over 21gb of free space (29gb usable space in the 32gb model). Thats with over 1300 pics, 8 full length movies i ripped from handbrake. 20 music videos to entertain the baby.

Plus she keeps about 200 songs for the gym. She doesnt use many apps.

So i got her the 16gb iphone 4S model and saved myself $100.

So everyone's needs are different. i play a lot of games so I know those games alone take up over 10-12gb alone. Plus my tom tom nav app and music. i know i consume around 20gb so I got myself the 32GB model.

if you are a hoarder and want all your music and apps pics and videos with you than by all means get the 64gb model.

You can always return without a restocking fees if purchased from Apple. Carriers may charge a $30 to 35 restocking fee.

 

[OneMike]

I didn't see from your post if you had an iPhone before or not?

If you did or you had an iPod touch. I'd look at how much space you normally had free there and use it as a comparison.

I had the 32GB iPhone 4 and always had 26GB or so free.

Unless you travel a lot and or plan on installing a ton of large apps (navigation 3GB+, etc..) the rest of the space just goes wasted.

For me I downgraded from 32GB to 16GB.

Don't make a mistake of seeing "best" as largest capacity. "Best" is the capacity that fits your needs.

 

[aneftp]

What's the point if most people upgrade their phones in a year or two? Something will definitely be bigger in the near future and most of us don't fill up the hard drives in that period of time.

I've always gotten the lower end (8GB and 16GB) iPhones and iPhone 4 and have been fine. This year I decided to jump to 64GB for myself because we just had a baby and my current phone actually filled up for the first time with pictures and movies. Honestly, I will most likely not even get close to using 32GB but seeing how this is the first year of her life and I've always been taking a ton of pics, I wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

To the OP, you picked what you thought fit your life and that's great. Just because a bunch of people bought something online, doesn't mean you need it. If that were the case, everyone here would have top of the line MBA's, iPad 2's, and MBP's and everything else.

Who knows, maybe once the iPhone 5 or newer comes out, I'll probably end up getting a 32GB due to me over estimating this year.

We had a baby last year. Congrats on your newborn. Parenting does really change your life (for the better).

We shoot a lot of videos with the iphone but usually upload to youtube so the grandparents can view and hardly ever keep them on the phone. Plus my wife has over 1300 photos on the phone and she still only use 8gb of storage.

You will find yourself emailing or uploading pics/videos to Youtube or Facebook and with the cloud your storage space on the phone will be a lot less than you think.

With kids if you can afford it, get a DSLR. Those little guys move so quick for a phone camera. The DSLR really can catch those moments We got the Canon T2i and my brother was kind enough to give us one of his L lenses since he was upgrading to something else. We dont know much about DSLR but its a must for new parents (who can afford it).

 

[kappaknight]

We had a baby last year. Congrats on your newborn. Parenting does really change your life (for the better).

We shoot a lot of videos with the iphone but usually upload to youtube so the grandparents can view and hardly ever keep them on the phone. Plus my wife has over 1300 photos on the phone and she still only use 8gb of storage.

You will find yourself emailing or uploading pics/videos to Youtube or Facebook and with the cloud your storage space on the phone will be a lot less than you think.

With kids if you can afford it, get a DSLR. Those little guys move so quick for a phone camera. The DSLR really can catch those moments We got the Canon T2i and my brother was kind enough to give us one of his L lenses since he was upgrading to something else. We dont know much about DSLR but its a must for new parents (who can afford it).

Thanks! That's definitely great advice. We do have a great DSLR with a fast prime lens but I do find myself reaching for the iPhone for most of the daily pics cause it's easier. Also, I tried taking a movie w/ the DSLR awhile back and the size was HUGE compared to the video I shot from the iPhone. Youtube never did process that upload correctly.

With that said, I keep roughly the same amount of media as your wife and I can probably clean out 70% of the apps that I don't use. With the higher mega-pixel for images, video, and photo stream, I'm still not 100% sure what my usage will end up being. At this point, I'm pretty confident that I am over estimating my usage - but I can also easily downgrade in the next upgrade too if I made the mistake this time.