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What size iPhone should I get?

pilot1226

pilot1226

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 18, 2010
601
15
USA
Hi,

Friday's the big day. I'm not sure which size to get, especially with the advent of iCloud. I have an unlimited data plan, so I am not worried about usage caps, so I don't mind streaming to and from iCloud.

I have roughly 6 GB of music on my iPod Touch, but I have been streaming Pandora a lot more often than actually using the iPod portion. (The only times I've really used the iPod are on vacations where there's no internet access, like on an Airplane... but some carriers are finally getting wifi in their cabins, hooray!)

I'd also consider iTunes Match for my account, and just stream what I need and delete what I don't until I want to listen to it again.

I'm not that big on movies, I've got a small collection (25-30) of my favorites that I've ripped and converted with Handbrake, and they take up around 2 GB each. Again, the only time I've really watched a movie is when travelling, which is only about once or twice a year.

I'm leaning towards a 16 GB iPhone 4S, but I could be swayed for the 32 if some of you have had less than stellar experiences with the Cloud.

Is it possible to use iCloud to sync with your home computer? I am an avid photographer and I usually take around 10 to 20 pictures every day. My concern is that I could potentially fill up my storage space - but I guess if there was a way to Sync with my home computer (which is a PC running Windows 7 Professional) then I could just stream back and forth as needed if I wanted to include a folder or two or exclude a folder or two.

Thanks so much for your input!
 
Buy the largest memory configuration you can afford.

Resale interest in the larger configuration is higher and the next iphone is due in the next 6 to 8 months.
 
16gb should be fine if you don't plan on having tons of apps on there. I personally kinda wish I got the 32gb but I'm a musician and love whipping up ideas in garageband and stuff so that takes up a lot of room.

for your purposes though, you could take pics and then sync them with photostream and then delete from your phone each day and have them saved on your computer. that would save space.

remember, you dont actually get 16gb to use. my iphone is telling me i only have about 13.5gb due to the OS and all that fun stuff.
 
roccobladr said:
16gb should be fine if you don't plan on having tons of apps on there. I personally kinda wish I got the 32gb but I'm a musician and love whipping up ideas in garageband and stuff so that takes up a lot of room.

for your purposes though, you could take pics and then sync them with photostream and then delete from your phone each day and have them saved on your computer. that would save space.

remember, you dont actually get 16gb to use. my iphone is telling me i only have about 13.5gb due to the OS and all that fun stuff.
Click to expand...

Good point. Photostream is pretty helpful, yeah. Apps I suppose could take up a bit, but I really don't have anything extraordinary or specialized. I'll look in the App Store quick for anything that could be fun or exciting that I'd potentially want. I'm forgetting about Books too, because my old iPod Touch is running iOS 3 and doesn't have Books. I suppose that'll count for something too.

Note: I will NOT be upgrading this at any point. This will be my phone, period, until my next eligible upgrade with Sprint in November 2013.
 
I went with the 32 and am glad I did. Just 400 pics and a dozen or so games and couple movies and I would have been at capacity on a 16. I still have a lot of space left and use the cloud to keep a few things but the 32 was a wise choice for me. My .02
 
Maybe a day your unlimited data is no longer unlimited. Go for as big as you can sensibly afford.
 
Normally, I'd agree but with the 4S, I "downgraded" to 16GB from a 32. It takes a little space management but for me, it's working. It also keeps me culling apps that I don't need. I dropped about 40 apps that I used to have installed "just in case" but that I rarely if ever use. I can always install them if needed for a case. I also manage my music better and don't keep every tv show on it.
 
16 gigs imo.

Paying 50% more out of pocket (on a 2-yr contract) for a little more space seems like a waste as long as your not a pack-rat and can keep your iPhone clean of clutter.
 
I recommend choosing 32GB (or 64 if price is not a factor). 32GB is a happy medium. This, taken into consideration, that your a photographer. With 16GB, you may have to frequently sync to iTunes to make space for more photos.
 
I went from 16GB to 32GB and don't regret it at all. I took alot of picetures and videos while I was in Vietnam and with 16GB I would have run out of space. I'd go with 32GB just so you don't have to worry about space so much.
 
I would suggest going with an amount of storage capacity that is around at least 20% bigger than what you need. This is just so that you'll be able to use that space if you need it in the future.

However, I humbly think that it is hard for anyone to give you a good firm suggestion on which storage capacity you need & only you can decide for yourself due to factors like budget for iPhone, buying iPhone on contract or unlocked, amount of storage space you regularly need, your willingness to go for a smaller storage amount & constantly swap stuff in/out of your iPhone as needed, etc.

Good luck in your choice of storage amount for your new iPhone. :)
 
Personally, I would go with the 32GB. I originally bought a 16GB iPhone 4 when it was released last year. I filled it up pretty quick (mainly with apps and music. No videos). The 32GB is perfect for me, and I still have 11GB available with the majority of my music collection on my phone.
 
If you play games and/or shoot videos, you should get 32Gb. Fifa Soccer 2012, for exemple, requires 1.06Gb. Almost 200Mb for 1 minute of 1080p video recording.
 
Venti sounds delicious. I decided I will be getting the 16 GB to start. I have 14 days to return it without a restocking fee; if I am that desperate for storage after having all of my stuff on there, I will upgrade it to the 32. Thanks for the input. We'll see how it goes.
 
pilot1226 said:
Venti sounds delicious. I decided I will be getting the 16 GB to start. I have 14 days to return it without a restocking fee; if I am that desperate for storage after having all of my stuff on there, I will upgrade it to the 32. Thanks for the input. We'll see how it goes.
Click to expand...

I believe the return policy is 30 days for iPhone purchases directly from Apple in the U.S.

Good luck. :)
 
pilot1226 said:
Venti sounds delicious. I decided I will be getting the 16 GB to start. I have 14 days to return it without a restocking fee; if I am that desperate for storage after having all of my stuff on there, I will upgrade it to the 32. Thanks for the input. We'll see how it goes.
Click to expand...

SPEEDwithJJ said:
I believe the return policy is 30 days for iPhone purchases directly from Apple in the U.S.

Good luck. :)
Click to expand...

Check each individual carrier for their return policy. I believe that Verizon's is 14 days no matter where you buy the phone. Not sure about Sprint.
 
andyx3x said:
Check each individual carrier for their return policy. I believe that Verizon's is 14 days no matter where you buy the phone. Not sure about Sprint.
Click to expand...

Oh, I didn't know about that previously. I thought the 30 days return policy applies to all iPhones (no matter what carrier or non-contract) bought directly from Apple. My bad. :eek:
 
ZipZap said:
Buy the largest memory configuration you can afford.

Resale interest in the larger configuration is higher and the next iphone is due in the next 6 to 8 months.
Click to expand...


I concur with the above reply.

Your question has been posed so many times with lots of different replies.

Follow this persons advice.
 
I had an iPhone 3G 8GB for almost 3 years. The storage was decent for a year and then after that, I couldn't have all the apps I had on my phone, so I had to pick and choose on some games with that take up huge amounts of space. By the end of the life of the iPhone 3G I was ready for the 32GB upgrade on the iPhone 4S. I'm very glad I did. I plan on keeping this phone for a while as well. I'm not one to switch out phones too often.
 
As I said above, I don't plan on reselling this since I'm a Sprint customer, and I'm content with waiting for 2 years until the next upgrade. Considering that the 3GS is over 2 years old and it's still capable of doing everything (it can run iOS 5, yes?), I'm not really concerned. I'm fine with getting the entry-level iPhone every 2 years.

I'll take that $100 and invest that into the higher-storage-model iPad 3 when that launches, as that will hopefully last me longer than 2 years (going on 7 with my iBook G4 right now and that runs wonderfully still)
 
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