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I've only purchased the 16GB WiFi units since the original iPad in 2010. I take advantage of the fact that all purchased apps are stored in iCloud and delete apps if I run low on space. My iPad is mostly for web surfing, online videos and light gaming at home. All heavy lifting is done on my rMBP or MacPro.
 
I see the OP's point of the having the base start at 32GB, and there was once an iPod Nano at 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB. Now they just sell the 16GB, and we have people out there who would be fine with an 8GB Nano. Yes, the 16GB is the best seller, but if the 32GB was the base that would probably be the best seller then. It would be nice to see:
32GB $499
64GB $599
128GB $699
 
I think it's shameful from Apple that at the end of 2013, they're still selling their premium $499 iPad starting with 16GB, and adding another $100 just to add another 16GB to 32GB. This is their high-end tablet computer that people are trying to replace their laptops with, and 16GB is just ridiculously small for this day and age, and Apple doesn't offer any help to compensate that small storage. iCloud only offers 5GB at start, which is now pretty small compared to Google Drive's and Dropbox's offerings. The iPad can't stream movies and TV shows, even though the Apple TV can. Apple's new iWork and iLife apps are now all free, in which customers are expected to download them all, which are around 3.5GB in total. All that just leaves the customer frustrated to hunt for storage, and deleting apps and just trying to deal with emptying memory.

It would only cost a dollar or two more to add 32GB at this point, and yet they're charging $100 dollars more. This will backstab them in the end, because most people are still buying 16GB models, which ruins the experience of the iPad, that is all about apps and games. Just start with 32GB, make the customer feel more comfortable downloading more apps and more games, which in result equals more profit!
 
I think it's shameful from Apple that at the end of 2013, they're still selling their premium $499 iPad starting with 16GB, and adding another $100 just to add another 16GB to 32GB. This is their high-end tablet computer that people are trying to replace their laptops with, and 16GB is just ridiculously small for this day and age, and Apple doesn't offer any help to compensate that small storage. iCloud only offers 5GB at start, which is now pretty small compared to Google Drive's and Dropbox's offerings. The iPad can't stream movies and TV shows, even though the Apple TV can. Apple's new iWork and iLife apps are now all free, in which customers are expected to download them all, which are around 3.5GB in total. All that just leaves the customer frustrated to hunt for storage, and deleting apps and just trying to deal with emptying memory.

It would only cost a dollar or two more to add 32GB at this point, and yet they're charging $100 dollars more. This will backstab them in the end, because most people are still buying 16GB models, which ruins the experience of the iPad, that is all about apps and games. Just start with 32GB, make the customer feel more comfortable downloading more apps and more games, which in result equals more profit!
I agree with you on this, but the iPad can stream movies and tv shows like Apple TV. Netflix app, Hulu app and I can stream from a computer using home sharing.
 
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I think the difference is that you can't compare a 8gb phone with a tablet.

Speaking for myself, I have never downloaded a movie or book on my phone or tried any kind of multi-tasking on it. I think a tablet opens up a lot more options, (which are probably available on your phone), but might not ever be used for those purposes.

To me, a tablet is a different animal, that's why I would always go for more storage on a tablet than a phone.
for me, the phone is music and photos, and the tablet is movies. So pretty much an even amount.
 
I agree with you on this, but the iPad can stream movies and tv shows like Apple TV. Netflix app, Hulu app and I can stream from a computer using home sharing.

Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Instant Video aren't available internationally, so what I meant was straight up stream from iTunes. The only device that can currently do this is the Apple TV. Currently, if I want to watch any movie from iTunes on my iPad, I have to either buy it or rent it and then wait endlessly for it to download. Home sharing isn't perfect, because both the Mac and iPad have to be on the same network.

All I am asking is for Apple to compensate the lack of storage on its $499 iPad, by offering a video streaming service that they're already doing on Apple TV.

And anyways, what device now that can't stream from Netflix :p
 
Minimum storage requirements go up as time evolves....we don't see MacBook Airs that start at anything less than 128GB do we? 2GB's of RAM isn't a starting point in Apple computers anymore is it? I know they are computers but it is a valid comparison and personally I think 32GB should be the starting point, I'd say 24GB to be fair with Apple's money makers but its not a traditional Apple flash memory option :p 16GB's is really starting to get small as media gets bigger and bigger, its just natural progression. I'm not trying to justify entitlement or not ponying up for the big boy models I'm just saying 32GB should be the standard, especially on a device that is priced very much premium by $175+ compared to other tablets that offer other features including expandability. Oh well, I guess 16GB's keeps Verizon and AT&T's bank accounts fluffed from all the streaming traffic because so many "need" stuff on the go over cellular or just plain ignorance between WiFi and cellular data.
 
"Purchased a two door vehicle and after seeing all the kids scrambling into the back seats realized I need a four door.
Damn Ford."

Actually it's more like if Ford sold one car, and the base model of that car had only 2 seats. Except in this analogy most normal people buying the car have no real way of knowing how many seats they need because they don't know before purchasing how much space their children (apps and media) will take up in the back seats. Do they need 4 seats? 16? 128!?? And if they go with the LTE package, they can go from only driving on roads around their neighborhood and work to driving on roads all over. Oh, and only two colors.

Actually cars are a horrible analogy. The fact remains that Apple has, since the original 16GB iPad was unveiled in 2010, doubled the base storage capacity of the iPhone from 8GB to 16GB and computers like the MacBook Air from 64GB to 128GB. And yet they've added storage-hungry features like Photostream for photos and videos and retina-enabled apps. But through FIVE generations they've stayed at 16GB. Weird.

All of the "normal" users I know with 16GB iPads complain about the lack of space. And since surveys have proved that most normal users are on a 24-36 month upgrade cycle, having only 16GB in 2015-2016 just sounds crazy to me.
 
have about 3 pages worth of apps and less than a gig left. i either need to dole out another 100 bucks or apple needs to make the starting storage 32 gb.

I'm still within my 14 day return/exchange policy. I got the white 16GB ATT iPad Air, but I'm exchanging it for the 32GB tomorrow.

I'm not huge on apps, so I've been wondering what I may need the extra storage for. All I can think of is, maybe, some movies and music. I'd like to store MS Word.docs, but I'm not sure if these .docs can be viewed on an iPad Air. I thought I'd exchange for the 32GB iPA now than be sorry later.
 
Dude. I didn't even fill up my 32 gig mini and I still bought a 64gig air just to future proof myself. Ya never know how much space you might want down the line that you can't upgrade later. It's like ram in retina MacBook pros. Can't upgrade, so get as much as you can afford.
 
128 all the way. Was going to get 64 but for another $100 it'd be silly not to get the extra 64gb. Now don't have to worry about storage at all. Shame on Apple for not making 32 standard though
 
iPads for what they are can be considered rather impressive. However, I much prefer if Apple would simply start all ipads at 32 gigs and allow for additional space via cards. In this, one size fits all plus whatever you want to buy in addition. One can dream and then wake up to the cold reality of Apple (grin).
 
Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Instant Video aren't available internationally, so what I meant was straight up stream from iTunes. The only device that can currently do this is the Apple TV. Currently, if I want to watch any movie from iTunes on my iPad, I have to either buy it or rent it and then wait endlessly for it to download. Home sharing isn't perfect, because both the Mac and iPad have to be on the same network.

All I am asking is for Apple to compensate the lack of storage on its $499 iPad, by offering a video streaming service that they're already doing on Apple TV.

And anyways, what device now that can't stream from Netflix :p

I am trying to understand what you're saying because the same way I can watch a movie from my Apple TV, I can watch it with my iPad. I just streamed a movie from iTunes (from the cloud) on my iPad just now with no issues. Also for fun, a movies I wanted to buy anyways, I bought it, and streamed it to my iPad without downloading it. I was not streaming it from iTunes over home sharing also, and personally I find that extremely reliable because I don't need the internet to do this, just a wireless network.
 
iPads for what they are can be considered rather impressive. However, I much prefer if Apple would simply start all ipads at 32 gigs and allow for additional space via cards. In this, one size fits all plus whatever you want to buy in addition. One can dream and then wake up to the cold reality of Apple (grin).

Sorry,too much money to be had.
 
I'm still within my 14 day return/exchange policy. I got the white 16GB ATT iPad Air, but I'm exchanging it for the 32GB tomorrow.

I'm not huge on apps, so I've been wondering what I may need the extra storage for. All I can think of is, maybe, some movies and music. I'd like to store MS Word.docs, but I'm not sure if these .docs can be viewed on an iPad Air. I thought I'd exchange for the 32GB iPA now than be sorry later.

i personally don't put videos or music on my ipad because i have ipods and an iphone and i still have filled a 16 gb ipad without even thinking about it. if you have a big media collection i would definitely go with 32 gb. i have some pretty big games on my ipad which is the main culprit of my lack of space on a 16 gb. ms words docs. can be viewed on an ipad
 
Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Instant Video aren't available internationally, so what I meant was straight up stream from iTunes. The only device that can currently do this is the Apple TV. Currently, if I want to watch any movie from iTunes on my iPad, I have to either buy it or rent it and then wait endlessly for it to download. Home sharing isn't perfect, because both the Mac and iPad have to be on the same network.

All I am asking is for Apple to compensate the lack of storage on its $499 iPad, by offering a video streaming service that they're already doing on Apple TV.

And anyways, what device now that can't stream from Netflix :p


It can stream from iTunes. I just tried it the other day. It showed the movies I have in the iTunes cloud, so I checked to see if it streamed it. It did.

Edit: I have 23 movies in there. None are on the iPad.
 
It can stream from iTunes. I just tried it the other day. It showed the movies I have in the iTunes cloud, so I checked to see if it streamed it. It did.

Edit: I have 23 movies in there. None are on the iPad.

Thank you, so I'm not the only one who sees this :D

Back to the main point. I agree that the lowest storage iPad should be 32GB.
 
From price point, it might be true, but unless you are determined to keep your top line model longer enough, the extra cost will never reflect well on used market.

As the other thread pointed out, there is sadly no big move in price difference for higher storage space on used market. I am seeing 128gb LTE iPad 4 on CL now for nearly $550. So you'd better prepared to keep your 128gb for a while, or you just don't care the money, which would be different story.....

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1669923/

128 all the way. Was going to get 64 but for another $100 it'd be silly not to get the extra 64gb. Now don't have to worry about storage at all. Shame on Apple for not making 32 standard though
 
Whenever purchasing a phone or ipad, I always go back to the old adage from the days of 40mb hard drives - always buy more storage than you think you'll need. That's why I went 128gb. It certainly is painful and expensive but I'd rather be able to use my ipad for anything and not have to worry about transferring files, especially since it takes forever to transfer.

Agreed about the base model being unacceptable storage in a tablet at that price, but let's face it - the 599 model is really only something for you to buy your mom so she can get on the web and check email. For any real use, you need to step up a model or two between memory and cellular. IMO, to have a robust ipad, you need to drop 730 and get the 32gb with LTE. Just my opinion. And yes, apples prove for memory is egregious, but count me as one of the enabling suckers that pay for it
 
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Every iPad I've had, including the original, has been 64GB (iPad, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad mini).

For the iPad Air, I went 128GB. Already have 70GB worth of stuff on it. Lol.
 
I'm pretty sure the fact that I had a 32gb iPad 1 kept me happy for a long time. I never really butted up against it being full (because I don't muck it out often!), which would have led to the feeling I needed to upgrade sooner just because the space was low.

Heck, I don't feel the need to upgrade NOW beyond the fact that i have 2-3 apps that I cannot run for the kids (school related). I figure by the time I'm done with the current round of tech upgrade/replacement that I will be set for another 3 years. That is the main reason I went with the 32gb for the kids on the mini.

Ohhhhh, wait, I can now run oneNote on it for them - that could change my days plan!
 
Same here. I returned the 16 for a 32. I don't have any media or store pics, data on Dropbox and Box. Just apps and a few games, books and PDFs.

iWork and iLife apps took up 3GB!
 
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