The whole 8GB crap...

[jr866gooner]

It's rubbish, my wife was due an upgrade so given that I've got a 32gb 5c she wanted to match mine for size as we both like music and pictures . We take a lot since we have two young children. It was typical that as we were looking they discontinued not just 32gb model but 16 as well!!

So we thought maybe we'll look into the 5s but not straight away. Typical left it a month or so and there were whispers of a discontinued32gb 5s which left us fuming as we will have no choice but to go for the 6 at a ridiculous price! Luckily we called EE and got a great deal on time for a 32gb model 5s and the wife is chuffed! She has a better phone than me now! I plan to get the 6.. Maybe the plus but need to do a pocket test and see just how daft it looks in my small hands lol

Anyway that was a long winded way of saying apple are clever stingy and very crafty. It doesn't need to be an 8gb model 16 is perfectly acceptable as the minimum. I had thought they stopped that nonsense last time around as times are changing and storage is ever available!

 

[kilcher]

It's all very simple, Apple sells an 8GB because they can. People still buy it. I don't get it but if Apple can get away with it, more power to them.

 

[C DM]

It's all very simple, Apple sells an 8GB because they can. People still buy it. I don't get it but if Apple can get away with it, more power to them.

And likely because for people with fairly simple phone needs (phone calls, messaging, some light email, light web browsing, a few photos once in a while, maybe an app or two here or there) 8 GB still generally works fine too.

 

[nj-morris]

The base model in 2007 was 4GB 🙂

They discontinued the 4GB one in September. Remember?

 

[CanadaMaple]

I'd say the 8GB 5c breaks down to Apple's need to offer a 'free' phone for the US contract market.

Personally I think they should have bit the bullet and made it 16GB. It might have cost them an extra $2 a unit, but the 8GB runs the risk of killing the Apple magic for purchasers who don't understand just how limited the storage is.

Pretty much nailed it.

6/6+ base should be 32/64/128 - but for Apple most people will pay more to go from 16 to 64, where 32 is enough for most of the "basic" crowd.
Offer a 5c 16
5s 16/32.(or maybe even 32/64 but that would never happen)

This would make a lot of sense. but Apple will do what Apple wants.

-CM

 

[C DM]

Pretty much nailed it.

6/6+ base should be 32/64/128 - but for Apple most people will pay more to go from 16 to 64, where 32 is enough for most of the "basic" crowd.
Offer a 5c 16
5s 16/32.(or maybe even 32/64 but that would never happen)

This would make a lot of sense. but Apple will do what Apple wants.

-CM

It might make more sense, but what Apple is doing is likely making more profit.

 

[SeilerBird]

I mean, the way I see it, the 8GB option should've been abolished with the discontinuation of the 4th gen touch.

Thats the beauty of having a 32GB iPod touch I have all my music and games and stuff on THAT. I just need the phone for basic needs (Texting, Calling, and the occasional web browsing), so in the long run, 8GB is enough.

Huh???

 

[ET iPhone Home]

I also have the Touch but prefer my iPhone as missing calls in not an option when you are running a business. I can walk, run, mow or whatever and have my music and still take care of my customers.

I applaud you for caring for your customers. The vendors I've come across to seem to always be readily available prior to the transaction, always committed to customer satisfaction, consistently checking to see how we're doing, but once the monies are handed over and the job is complete, God forbid, we make any complaints or corrections on their job. Only then, do they all seem not to be available.

Lesson learned, this time, I'm appraising many vendors new and old, and making them beg and wait for any work I may have for them. I'm as unavailable to them as they were to me. You should see the unanswered messages I have for them.

 

[Newtons Apple]

I applaud you for caring for your customers. The vendors I've come across to seem to always be readily available prior to the transaction, always committed to customer satisfaction, consistently checking to see how we're doing, but once the monies are handed over and the job is complete, God forbid, we make any complaints or corrections on their job. Only then, do they all seem not to be available.

Lesson learned, this time, I'm appraising many vendors new and old, and making them beg and wait for any work I may have for them. I'm as unavailable to them as they were to me. You should see the unanswered messages I have for them.

Be careful about dissing all of your vendors as the few good and honest vendors should be held like a friend. Great vendors are hard to find.

 

[Primejimbo]

We have 8GB iPhones for work and they are more than enough. They are locked down and we can't put anything on it, so anything more is a waste.

 

[TechZeke]

Pretty much nailed it.

6/6+ base should be 32/64/128 - but for Apple most people will pay more to go from 16 to 64, where 32 is enough for most of the "basic" crowd.
Offer a 5c 16
5s 16/32.(or maybe even 32/64 but that would never happen)

This would make a lot of sense. but Apple will do what Apple wants.

-CM

And it worked, at least on me. 16GB on my iPhone 5 was hell, but so i had no choice but to go 64GB on my 6+. If 32GB was the base, they wouldn't have gotten the extra $100 out of me. Can't be mad, it's genius capitalism and 64GB is a ton of storage(I can barely use half it) and worth the price.

The base storage won't move until they add 256GB. That way they can do 32/128/256.

 

[CanadaMaple]

And it worked, at least on me. 16GB on my iPhone 5 was hell, but so i had no choice but to go 64GB on my 6+. If 32GB was the base, they wouldn't have gotten the extra $100 out of me. Can't be mad, it's genius capitalism and 64GB is a ton of storage(I can barely use half it) and worth the price.

The base storage won't move until they add 256GB. That way they can do 32/128/256.

Exactly. You and many others I know. and at the point where 32 MAY become base. It would be just as useful as 16 is now 🙁.

-CM

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We have 8GB iPhones for work and they are more than enough. They are locked down and we can't put anything on it, so anything more is a waste.

I can see 8GB being quite useful in this situation, however this is not the case for the average user. Apple would be quite smart to offer a special 8gb business edition phone to business buyers, but keep consumer model at 16gb. But alas, this hasn't happened.

-CM

 

[zorinlynx]

8GB iPhones can cause serious problems for non-technical users, who ironically tend to be the sort who buy 8GB devices.

My mother has a 16GB phone, twice that, and she has had to come to me for help dealing with having run out of storage and helping her offload photos and videos because she doesn't own a computer.

I can't imagine the kind of hell an 8GB device must be. When you literally can't take anymore photos or install any apps, or even upgrade your device to the next version of iOS because it's full? That's a horrible customer experience, and isn't worth saving $2 a unit.

Flash memory is cheap as hell. 32GB needs to be the new baseline for all device lines.

 

[C DM]

Exactly. You and many others I know. and at the point where 32 MAY become base. It would be just as useful as 16 is now 🙁.

-CM

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I can see 8GB being quite useful in this situation, however this is not the case for the average user. Apple would be quite smart to offer a special 8gb business edition phone to business buyers, but keep consumer model at 16gb. But alas, this hasn't happened.

-CM

Many "average" users don't do much more than make calls and maybe text (if even that) and sometimes use email or browse the web. So it can more than enough for many of them.

 

[CanadaMaple]

Many "average" users don't do much more than make calls and maybe text (if even that) and sometimes use email or browse the web. So it can more than enough for many of them.

As the post above yours pointed out. Many average users take a lot of photo and video too. And then run into issues when they run out of space. As they pointed out, a lot of these users are very not tech-inclined and don't understand exactly what is going on.

-CM

 

[C DM]

As the post above yours pointed out. Many average users take a lot of photo and video too. And then run into issues when they run out of space. As they pointed out, a lot of these users are very not tech-inclined and don't understand exactly what is going on.

-CM

Many do, and many don't (some don't take any, while many take a few here and there once in a while).

 

[CanadaMaple]

Many do, and many don't (some don't take any, while many take a few here and there once in a while).

Yes but more storage will aid those that do, and not affect those that dont. And considering the cheapness of flash storage there is no excuse.

 

[Technarchy]

OP,

It depends. Consider, if one is getting an iPhone with 8GB simply for a backup phone or an overseas phone, or something of that nature, where the space is not the primary issue (rather the usage of the phone as purely a phone is)

I agree otherwise 8GB is not large, and that apple should in this day and age make 16GB the absolute low end, but for some users, 8GB may be enough

Even as a back up phone, the economics of getting an iPhone 5c don't make sense to anyone paying attention.

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Many "average" users don't do much more than make calls and maybe text (if even that) and sometimes use email or browse the web. So it can more than enough for many of them.

This excuse is getting weaker daily. The market is getting less ignorant and will notice updates that fail to install and photos that can't be taken.

 

[C DM]

Even as a back up phone, the economics of getting an iPhone 5c don't make sense to anyone paying attention.

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This excuse is getting weaker daily. The market is getting less ignorant and will notice updates that fail to install and photos that can't be taken.

Those that will notice it will look for something else, those who don't won't need something else.

 

[russellelly]

Well, OP,

There might just be someone out there who just needs the 8gb one. I would say that it does not make sense to buy it if you are going to need more than that, but would you also criticize a store for selling 1 sleeve of poptarts where there are boxes of 6 sleeves right next to it?

Of course not. It's an option for people who want to only have two poptarts.

The problem with that analogy is that they don't offer the 5C in anything but 8GB. Sure, they'll sell you a 5S in 16GB, but for the user who wants a budget phone that's not really helpful.

Bottom line is that giving people a crappy experience (which, selling old hardware with a crippling amount of storage will) won't build loyalty, will result in disappointed customers and tarnishes the brand. It's short term thinking and it's really poor from Apple.

 

[georgerussos]

Everyone buys what they think is most suitable for them.

The 8GB model is made for a very specific market, mainly the target group that uses Cloud services for everything. If you stream your music and you don't have every photo you take on the actual phone, the 8GB is honestly more than enough. All my friends have 8GB iPhones and they have music, photos and apps on it and they still have space left. I myself have an 8GB model and I have like 4 gigs left (and that's after the space iOS 8 takes up), because I use the iCloud Photo Library and I stream my music through Spotify. If you have an unlimited data plan the 8GB model can be a great deal, really. All the iPhone sweetness for cheaper.

 

[venomgt95]

Huh???

I mean 8GB isnt enough for the people who are looking to load their phones with everything. But, in this case for me, 8GB is manageable because i really only need the phone for its basic uses. I mean, sure, ill load some songs and my Sonic games onto it, but thats about it.

 

[treichert]

Everyone buys what they think is most suitable for them.

The 8GB model is made for a very specific market, mainly the target group that uses Cloud services for everything. If you stream your music and you don't have every photo you take on the actual phone, the 8GB is honestly more than enough. All my friends have 8GB iPhones and they have music, photos and apps on it and they still have space left. I myself have an 8GB model and I have like 4 gigs left (and that's after the space iOS 8 takes up), because I use the iCloud Photo Library and I stream my music through Spotify. If you have an unlimited data plan the 8GB model can be a great deal, really. All the iPhone sweetness for cheaper.

I use Cloud services for everything. I also use iCloud Photo Library on a 16GB phone. This alone consumes about 3GB on my device just for previews that are kept on the device. Spotify and the Music app create huge caches when streaming music.

It's 2015. Get rid of the crappy 8 and 16GB models.

 

[decafjava]

I use Cloud services for everything. I also use iCloud Photo Library on a 16GB phone. This alone consumes about 3GB on my device just for previews that are kept on the device. Spotify and the Music app create huge caches when streaming music.

It's 2015. Get rid of the crappy 8 and 16GB models.

THIS: I agree absolutely. I may also add I use my iPhone for navigation and need the space for offline maps - Google for example provide this capability.

Others have mentioned this but it bears repeating 8GB is completely inadequate for OTA updates of the OS and other things. I got the 128 GB model but others really can't afford that.

Apple please take note!

 

[Apples n' Stone]

Why is this even a question?

For anyone with even the most basic knowledge of the business world it makes sense. 8GB is sufficient for some but with the branding of Apple so popular people will want to buy more as they can fully utilise the App Store. I for one chose to pay the premium for 128GB in my 6 Plus (Silver) and reap the rewards in the sense that all of my previous iPhone Backups have been rolling over and when I filled my 5S (Mainly with stuff I did not need) the convenience of 64GB came into play.

Having owned a 32GB iPhone 5 and cracking it, Apple only had the 16 and 32 GB options for my replacement so I got the 64. Point being, when we have a field to run in, we run further than we would indoors. Upgrading from a 32GB iPhone 5 to a 8GB iPhone 5C would be pointless (In specs too but that is not the point), what people will then do is decide to spend more to match or improve on their available storage space. BUT, what I suggest to people who do not want to pay much is to get the 200GB iCloud package and store things there instead of locally. However, I would not buy an 8GB iPhone as the maximum app size was increased to 4GB.

Now, moving on to the 16 to 64GB it benefits both Apple and the user. They have reduced the price of 64GB to the price of 32GB so you are getting more storage for your money. Full 16GB users will want this in their next upgrade, so they spend slightly more giving Apple a larger income. Remember, these chips cost next to nothing when in bulk. It is a good strategy, and as one of the largest and best established brands in the world they could easily do worse. The 8GB was introduced as 5C sales were much lower than expected as the budget iPhone it was expected to be. With the spec difference between 5S and 5C more people bought the 5S. But again, this depends on the requirements of the user.