Size of the Average iOS App Increased 16% in Six Months

[Tiger8]

This is why an 8GB iPad Mini will be insufficient


Keep in mind 8GB = ~6.3GB of actual storage


1 solid game w/ app data = 1GB (Metal Storm as an example)
Several photo alumbs and home videos = 1GB
Music albums and Podcasts = 1GB
1 downloaded iTunes HD movie = 2GB
3 magazines in Newstand app = 1GB
50 misc apps w/ app data = 1GB


Realizing Medic311 was correct that 8GB wasn't sufficient...priceless (or hilarious)


If the iPad Mini is designed for consuming written material (as the rumors are swirling about a focus on iBooks), 8GB will be extremely frustrating for many. Newstand chews through storage as Digital Magazines throw in enormous graphics and photos. Ever downloaded an issue of Wired? They are 450MB+ then throw in additional magazines like The Economist and Bloomberg which have audio components which soak up even more storage

I have a 32 GB iPad, and to be honest, my next one will be 16 GB. Yes it's nice to have storage and store my entire music collection on it, but I rarely listen to music on it (I don't workout with my iPad). I also have a few movies there, but constantly use Netflix or ABC player.

I think the number one use of iPad is internet browsing, and that requires a connection, not extra storage.

For the casual user, 8 GB would be sufficient.

 

[mattwolfmatt]

"Size increased 16% in six months"

Is it me, or does this headline sound like 50% of the email in my spam inbox?

 

[Varedis]

Also they make no mention of what apps they used to compare. If in March they took a load of 5 minute gameplay games and then compared them in September against stuff like Real Racing, Infinity Blade etc then the size will go up.

Also big developers are constantly pushing in more content and better graphics. It is unrealistic to expect this stuff while apps remain < 20mb

 

[iEvolution]

But we dont need anything higher than 64gb right Apple? Despite 256kbps audio, high definition videos and larger apps coming out since the 64gb introduction.

 

[ncaissie]

You should always buy the biggest capacity offered by Apple. That way, you will never have any regrets.

It is a win/win for Apple and the consumer, and for the entire Apple community and for the Apple Lifestyle.

In fact, Apple offers low capacities so that new buyers will buy them, fall in love with their device, and then buy a second one with larger capacity. Apple is brilliant in this regard.

so I'd suggest that you buy your kid a second device with a larger capacity. That way, everybody comes out ahead.

But not everyone can afford a $950 iPad for their child’s birthday or Christmas.
For myself yeah I should have been more patient. I took what they had in the store at the time. I didn't want to wait weeks or months to get one from my service provider.

It reminds me of how Microsoft sucks in the parents that don't know any better or are looking to get the cheapest option on the Xbox 360 4GB model that will only hold one game at a time if you're lucky.

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...And the maps app decreased 100%.

LMAO 100% increase with 25% of the data.

 

[SiG03]

You should always buy the biggest capacity offered by Apple. That way, you will never have any regrets.

It is a win/win for Apple and the consumer, and for the entire Apple community and for the Apple Lifestyle.

In fact, Apple offers low capacities so that new buyers will buy them, fall in love with their device, and then buy a second one with larger capacity. Apple is brilliant in this regard.

so I'd suggest that you buy your kid a second device with a larger capacity. That way, everybody comes out ahead.

iGrip--I have to disagree with the first part of your statement. You should always buy the largest capactity that you can use/afford.

I have owned iPhones of different capacities. My first iPhone was a 32GB 3GS. However, when I upgraded to the iPhone 4, I had to get a 16GB because that was all I could afford at that time. When I upgraded to the iPhone 5, I again purchased the 16GB even though I could have gotten the 32GB. I discovered that I didn't use all the apps/music/movies that I do own. I'm constantly on all my iOS devices and I've discovered over time, using the cloud is far more beneficial for me. My favorite services are by far Dropbox and Evernote.

Would I love to have a 64GB iPhone or iPad? Heck yeah, I would! But, IMO it's not really necessary. Other people may or may not feel the same way.

If someone wants to buy the largest capacity. Go ahead and enjoy. But, that doesn't mean everyone should or can for that matter.

 

[cmichaelb]

ITunes Match. Working out nicely for me and my 230GB of lossless.

Really? That's good to know. I don't even have half of that in total lol.

I may have to try that. Except, I don't like how the lower quality sounds.

----------

I use a playlist that is 4GB is size. It is comprised of 256k AAC. The total play time is 1.6 days. 16GB of music would be over six days worth of music. Do you really need to carry around six days worth of music?

95% of my music is Apple Lossless format. Sounds so much better than 256k AAC. Maybe I'm one of those weird people that can actually tell a difference but to me it is HUGE. I used to work as a sound technician.

So, at an average of 4 minutes per song, I have about 2.6 days worth of music. ( a handful of podcast are lumped into there to).

 

[GorgonPhone]

Obviously. The screen of the iPhone is getting bigger, so will the size of apps.

so when is apple gonna give us a 140 gb option for iphones and iPads?

 

[dagamer34]

I just want to set the record straight speaking as an iOS developer:

1) Most developers aren't "lazy". There is nothing we can do about a universal Retina-ready iPad app taking up a bunch of space on an iPhone 3GS.
2) Deleting assets not needed after the fact isn't possible as a) the package is signed so it can't be modified and b) no automated process on Apple's end can know which assets aren't needed in an app.
3) The benefit of having a full version of the app on your device us that you can sync it to your computer and then to other devices. When we are talking about games like Infinity Blade or apps like TomTom that are GB in size, that's huge.

And to be honest, the actually easy solution to the problem is to decrease the cost of increased storage sizes. When a 64GB flash chip costs Apple $40-50 and Apple charges you $200 for it, I think you can draw your own conclusions.

 

[wlossw]

What surprises me is that even as storage gets cheaper and cheaper, phone memory sizes have basically remained the same for several generations.

 

[Yvan256]

To do this Apple would have to change the way iPad and iPhone apps are built. Universal apps contain one big binary with all the code for both the iPad and the iPhone, and all the resources (images, etc.) come with it. There's no way to auto-detect which "parts" of the binary are for which device or which images are for which device. (With the exception of things like icons and launch images.)

However, they could easily remove non-retina graphics from retina devices, which would cut down the file size quite a bit.

That's what I'm saying. Graphic resources, not code, should be packed together for each given platform, i.e. iPhone (320x480 devices), iPhone 4 (640x960 devices), iPhone 5 (640x1136 devices), iPad (768x1024 devices), iPad 3 (1536x2048 devices). The App simply tells iOS to access "resource xyz" and iTunes/iOS takes care of only syncing/downloading the appropriate pack for the device. The new iPad mini, if it has a resolution of 768x1024, would use the same resource pack as the original iPad.

I also thought about a "shared" resource pack, but because of the "regular vs retina" and DPI differences I'm pretty sure no devices would be able to share anything with the others, except the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 for icons and similarly-sized items. At that point it becomes easier for the OS and programmers to just duplicate the resources in each pack.

It works like that for websites (Web clip icon). There's a tag for each family of devices and one graphic file for each. Once you add the regular 16x16 favicon.png, that means a website made in 2012 must have five favicon graphic files.

 

[iLilana]

16gig devices

this is why we need to remove the 16gig sized devices and start at 32 or 64. programs get bigger.

 

[iGrip]

But not everyone can afford a $950 iPad for their child’s birthday or Christmas.

And those people are the ones who feel compelled to buy crappy Android junk. They have no taste.

Who need them?

----------

iGrip--I have to disagree with the first part of your statement. You should always buy the largest capactity that you can use/afford.

Your data will grow to fill the extra capacity, and Apple makes a huge amount of margin on the bigger capacity devices.

You can skip buying booze and cigarettes for a couple of weeks and easily afford the higher capacities. Or else buy a smaller one, and then save up and buy the bigger one later. Actually, that is your best bet.

 

[mattwolfmatt]

so when is apple gonna give us a 140 gb option for iphones and iPads?

Do you really want a hard drive spinning around in your pocket playing that music? I think they will NEVER do that . . . until SSD gets cheap enough. I'd guess every 2-3 years the top capacity will double. Maybe in 6-8 years it will be at 256gb. 10 years for 1TB.

 

[Vizin]

.

 

[ncaissie]

And those people are the ones who feel compelled to buy crappy Android junk. They have no taste.

Who need them?

What are you talking about? I can’t afford it and I’m betting you couldn’t either.
I don’t buy android junk. Well I got sucked into the xperia play but went back to my 3GS and now on the 5. Not having money doesn’t give you bad taste. And I make $80Gs a year.

 

[ZenErik]

Really? That's good to know. I don't even have half of that in total lol.

I may have to try that. Except, I don't like how the lower quality sounds.

----------



95% of my music is Apple Lossless format. Sounds so much better than 256k AAC. Maybe I'm one of those weird people that can actually tell a difference but to me it is HUGE. I used to work as a sound technician.

So, at an average of 4 minutes per song, I have about 2.6 days worth of music. ( a handful of podcast are lumped into there to).

Yea. Lower quality is never ideal, but my iPhone 5 is only 16GB. 256kbps AAC isn't perfect, but it's generally good enough for my Shure SE535 on the bus/train and sounds fine on a mediocre car stereo. Wouldn't use it at home with my full sized headphones and DAC/amp.

 

[Bensalama21]

This is why an 8GB iPad Mini will be insufficient


Keep in mind 8GB = ~6.3GB of actual storage


1 solid game w/ app data = 1GB (Metal Storm as an example)
Several photo albums and home videos = 1GB
Music albums and Podcasts = 1GB
1 downloaded iTunes HD movie = 2GB
3 magazines in Newstand app = 1GB
50 misc apps w/ app data = 1GB


Realizing Medic311 was correct that 8GB wasn't sufficient...priceless (or hilarious)


If the iPad Mini is designed for consuming written material (as the rumors are swirling about a focus on iBooks), 8GB will be extremely frustrating for many. Newstand chews through storage as Digital Magazines throw in enormous graphics and photos. Ever downloaded an issue of Wired? They are 450MB+ then throw in additional magazines like The Economist and Bloomberg which have audio components which soak up even more storage

Don't forget a 8gb option would be for people that would like to use it ONLY for books. (Kindle Killer example)

 

[Medic311]

Don't forget a 8gb option would be for people that would like to use it ONLY for books. (Kindle Killer example)

it would be silly to buy an e-reader for $250 when you can get an actual e-reader for $69. plus reading on an iPad is horrendous compared to a Kindle.

the iPad Mini will not be a Kindle killer

 

[GorgonPhone]

Do you really want a hard drive spinning around in your pocket playing that music? I think they will NEVER do that . . . until SSD gets cheap enough. I'd guess every 2-3 years the top capacity will double. Maybe in 6-8 years it will be at 256gb. 10 years for 1TB.

SSD is the only option but 64 gb is primitive now..

 

[Bensalama21]

it would be silly to buy an e-reader for $250 when you can get an actual e-reader for $69. plus reading on an iPad is horrendous compared to a Kindle.

the iPad Mini will not be a Kindle killer

Kindle Fire killer. yes it will. and I read all the time on my ipad using the Sepia mode on iBooks. Don't forget that Apple is coming out with a new feature for ibooks at this event. Possibly a subscription so you can download any book? Who knows?

 

[Medic311]

Kindle Fire killer. yes it will. and I read all the time on my ipad using the Sepia mode on iBooks. Don't forget that Apple is coming out with a new feature for ibooks at this event. Possibly a subscription so you can download any book? Who knows?

a subscription for iBooks? apple would never be able to have enough leverage to negotiate that with the publishers. apple's business for iBooks is peanuts compared to Amazon

the iPad Mini is not a Kindle killer...they are 2 totally different kinds of technology. one is to simulate ink on paper, with 2 month battery life, no glare, and super light. the Kindle is $69, the iPad will not be under $250

iPad Mini could be a Kindle Fire killer, yes. but not a Kindle e-reader killer

 

[Bensalama21]

a subscription for iBooks? apple would never be able to have enough leverage to negotiate that with the publishers. apple's business for iBooks is peanuts compared to Amazon

the iPad Mini is not a Kindle killer...they are 2 totally different kinds of technology. one is to simulate ink on paper, with 2 month battery life, no glare, and super light. the Kindle is $69, the iPad will not be under $250

iPad Mini could be a Kindle Fire killer, yes. but not a Kindle e-reader killer

*10 years ago: There is no way that you can pay a subscription to listen to any song in the world! That's absurd!

 

[Medic311]

*10 years ago: There is no way that you can pay a subscription to listen to any song in the world! That's absurd!

i never said that a subscription based e-book service is not possible. when did i ever say that? i said Apple will not be the one to introduce such a service. when has Apple led the way in subscription based media services anyways? do you really think Apple has the leverage to force publishers into a subscription service? Apple's slice of the e-book pie is a small fraction of the Kindle + Nook sales.

 

[Bensalama21]

i never said that a subscription based e-book service is not possible. when did i ever say that? i said Apple will not be the one to introduce such a service. when has Apple led the way in subscription based media services anyways? do you really think Apple has the leverage to force publishers into a subscription service? Apple's slice of the e-book pie is a small fraction of the Kindle + Nook sales.

When you say "a subscription for iBooks? apple would never be able to have enough leverage to negotiate that with the publishers. apple's business for iBooks is peanuts compared to Amazon", it shows that you think it can't happen. But just look at the music industry. It costs Spotify around a billion dollars just to buy the licensing to get the music content.