Not Enough Space iPhone Backup to iTunes

[gareo1mac]

I need to get a new iPhone, and I need to do a full iTunes backup to my computer (of my current iPhone) in order to restore everything correctly on my new phone (right?).
But my laptop does not have enough storage space.
How can I get around this issue and do a full backup to an external hard drive?
Does a cloud backup serve the exact same purpose?
Thanks

 

[eclipse01]

Icloud backup, although if you are backing up your photos on icloud, chances are you will go through the 5gb storage rather quickly, if you do that I would suggest paying the $1 a month. Of course you can get past this buy either copying/pasting your pics off your phone or using an external cloud (like Amazon or google)

Buy yes, I cloud restore does the same as Itunes restore.

 

[Newtons Apple]

If you have a spare drive why not move some stuff off of your laptop to make room.

I would never depend on the cloud for my encrypted backup to restore a new phone. I use the cloud and have it backup every night but still would rather have an encrypted iTunes backup to restore with.

 

[macTW]

USB drive can help, either put some stuff on it or put phone backup on it. As a temporary solution.