Will Apple drop 16GB with the iPhone 6?

[phillytim]

If Samsung releases their next Galaxy S5 with 32GB on the lowest-end, then that may be an indicator that Apple will drop the 16 towards the iPhone 6S or 7 timeframe. But definitely not the next iPhone, the 6.

That's my best guess.

 

[Steve121178]

Will Apple drop 16GB with the iPhone 6?

No, the 16GB version is by far the most profitable model and it's a favourite with carriers.

16GB is here to stay for sometime yet.

 

[dave420]

No, the 16GB version is by far the most profitable model and it's a favourite with carriers.

16GB is here to stay for sometime yet.

Maybe overall it is the most profitable model, but on a per unit basis the 32 GB and 64 GB models make much more profit. Apple is charging $100 for what costs them $5. Of course that gives them more of a reason not to drop the price.

Might want to check your math. 3GS was first with 16GB base, released June, 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone#Model_comparison

Your site that you linked says it was released June 2009. This year is the 5th model year in a row that Apple has had 16 GB for their $200 iPhone. I don't understand why people don't want Apple to increase this. Everything else gets better, why not increase the storage?
Apps are bigger now. In 2009 there was no retina display, no universal iPad apps, no 32 + 64 bit apps.

 

[Breitling65]

Why do I need more space? Music is streaming, photo and documents could stay on cloud. Why? I have 32GB on my ipad I never used half of it too. Games?

 

[Jimmy James]

I hope so. I am mad they didn't do it for the 5S. I seem to be in the minority though. Most posters here say they don't want more storage. They want more RAM, bigger screens, better cameras, but people swear up and down they don't want Apple to increase the base storage size.

I want more storage too. But you're mad that the cost of NAND storage is still so high?

 

[dave420]

I want more storage too. But you're mad that the cost of NAND storage is still so high?

I'm mad that it isn't high, and Apple has everyone believing it is by charging $100 for an extra 16 GB. Then everyone thinks flash is so expensive and comes on here saying they never want Apple to increase the storage size because it is so expensive.
Are you saying the cost hasn't gone down in the last 5 years? Doesn't seem like Apple is passing the savings on to us.

 

[Fogtripper]

The 16GB version is too popular for Apple to stop making it.

Is it at all possible that it is the most popular because of the price point rather than what storage it has? If the 5s was released with 32gb for the $199 subsidized, do you imagine people who previously had 16gb would be upset?

Removable storage would be nice.

Why do I need more space? Music is streaming, photo and documents could stay on cloud. Why? I have 32GB on my ipad I never used half of it too. Games?

Some people do not have unlimited data for those services to make sense.

 

[Samanosuke]

I'm all about the cam and internal storage.

 

[ucfgrad93]

They are pushing on cloud services, although competitors will probably make a difference.
In my opinion, they will keep the 16 GB option.

Agreed. I don't see Apple dropping the 16GB version anytime soon.

 

[urkel]

I'm going to just say it. These excuses for 16GB are ridiculous.

1) The Cloud is NOT the answer. Even IF Apple was good with cloud services (and they are not) then the cloud requires bandwidth. And with bandwidth hitting amazing speeds due to LTE then these 2GB carrier limits will just get tougher and tougher to live within. So internal storage still has a purpose.

2) Casual users don't dump their photos/video and, based in the "Years" section of the new Photos.app then Apple knows it. People upgrade their phones and all those years of photos and videos follow them. My mom is a typical user and now that she's doing video (many times by accident) then her 32GB is already 20GB full.

3) 64bit. We have yet to see how 64bit will affect app size but it isn't crazy to assume that apps will continue to get bigger.

4) Cost. Lets face it. Apple's pricing on storage is a scam. 16GB->32GB = $100? 16GB->64GB = $200? C'mon. I used an S4 for a month, and while I didnt love Android, the advantage of popping in a $30 64GB Class 10 MicroSD was amazing.

5) Why not. There's this really annoying type of Apple user that doesn't want change unless Apple tells them to want it. They dismiss the idea of a Mini iPad until an iPad Mini is announced. They make fun of a rumored Gold iPhone and then wait in line 20hrs to ensure they have one. They dismiss the need for quick access to settings but now use it daily in iOS7. So I see the same thing happening with these people who claim that they don't want a bigger screen or have no use for more storage. If it doesnt exist yet then they slam it, but once it arrives then they are singing its praises.


Personally, I dont actually care if 16GB goes away or not because 32GB has always been the sweet spot for me. But it really will be surprising if Apple decides to stick with such a low capacity in their flagship devices.

 

[Kendo]

The 16GB version is too popular for Apple to stop making it.
Most people I know have the 16GB version, even though they always complain that the storage is too small. But since the iPhone is so damn expensive, many customers buy the 16GB model in order to "save" a little.

It's the most popular because it is the cheapest.

Apple needs to drop the 16GB and make the 32GB model at a base price of $199. The iPhone used to have 8GB as the base for $199 but it changed to 16 with the 3GS in 2009. It is now time to drop the 16 and make 32 the new base model.

 

[sk24iam]

I hope so, a new 128gb size hard drive would be great for people that have a lot of music and don't want to depend on the cloud/data plan.

 

[deeddawg]

Your site that you linked says it was released June 2009.

Whoops, I read the wrong line, that was when the released the 8GB model as the bottom of the overall lineup. Thanks for the clarification and the reminder that 8GB is the actual "bottom" of the array of iphones offered, not 16GB.

Apps are bigger now. In 2009 there was no retina display, no universal iPad apps, no 32 + 64 bit apps

Yep. Very true. Apps have grown, but is it relevant? I supposed it depends on the apps you use. Not counting Podcasts/Music/Photos, I have 9 apps over 100MB, of which four are over 150MB. A few apps between 50-100MB and everything else ranging around 20-40MB.

I really don't care whether Apple increases the base storage or not provided they don't up the price of the lowest capacity current model. That'd fk the people who are fine with 16GB phones.

What I don't get is why people give a hoot what the lowest capacity phone is? I can understand wanting the prices to be lower, wanting a lower step-up price between versions, or wanting a 128GB phone (offered in iPad I believe). Or is it just an assumption that a higher capacity base model will cause the price-per-capacity matrix to step down?

 

[kevpan815]

I certainly hope NOT as I like the cheaper $199/$649 price that comes with the 16 GB IPhone 5S. I Early Upgraded to my 5S that will arrive on Thursday, so my 2 Year Contract will still Expire Next Year and I will want a 16 GB IPhone 6 at $199 for a New 2 Year Contract Next Year.

 

[*~Kim~*]

I don't think they'll drop it, as if they decide not to produce a 6C as it wasn't as popular as they expected or something, they would drop the capacity options of the 5s down a notch when the 6 comes out. For this reason, they may drop the 8GB and produce the 16 later on, starting the base models at launch from 32GB.

 

[R.Stoychev]

Yes. It's been confirmed.

Prove it

 

[seiyamaple]

The 16GB version is too popular for Apple to stop making it.

That makes no sense at all. If apple releases the 32GB version as the 199$ price, why would it matter?

"OMG, did you see that the 199$ iPhone 6 is now 32gb? That's so much ********, why would they stop making the 16GB? I'm not buying that crap."

I totally picture someone saying that.

 

[hagr182]

I don't think so, but it could help them sell more phones if they keep the current pricing scheme with 32/64/128 options

 

[dave420]

What I don't get is why people give a hoot what the lowest capacity phone is? I can understand wanting the prices to be lower, wanting a lower step-up price between versions, or wanting a 128GB phone (offered in iPad I believe). Or is it just an assumption that a higher capacity base model will cause the price-per-capacity matrix to step down?

Yea I don't care if they keep or get rid of the 16 GB model, but I think the prices for the other ones could come down. We all have to compain about something Apple has always been known to be expensive.
Would just be nice to move from the $200=16 GB, $300=32 GB that's been in place for 5 model years in a row. They started to do that with the 5c.
In my case I just vote with my wallet. I skipped the iPhone 5 since I didn't want to pay the 64 GB price two years in a row. I might have skipped the 5s as well since they kept the same pricing structure, but I got a good deal selling an iPhone 4 so I went with it.

 

[deeddawg]

I skipped the iPhone 5 since I didn't want to pay the 64 GB price two years in a row. I might have skipped the 5s as well since they kept the same pricing structure, but I got a good deal selling an iPhone 4 so I went with it.

I skipped the 5 as there just wasn't anything that "wowed" me enough to upgrade.

The iphone is a fairly mature product, and as is perfectly normal, the annual upgrades tend to be far more evolutionary than revolutionary. We're really at the point in its product lifecycle where buying every-other-generation is often the better choice for the users.

I bought the 5s largely because I like the convenience of TouchID (work requires passcode) but really more because I hate giving AT&T free money in the form of the embedded subsidy that doesn't go away when off contract.

FWIW, the sweet spot for me is 32GB. The three other iphone owners in my household are all quite comfortable with their 16GB phones. So actually, I'd save money if Apple makes the 16GB cheaper when expanding to 128GB. (hadn't actually thought that through 'til now, ha!)

 

[dave420]

(FWIW, the sweet spot for me is 32GB. Three other iphone owners in my household, all quite comfortable within their 16GB)

Yea I think 32 GB is a good size. I got the 16 GB with the iPhone 4 and ran out of space within the first wek. I'm never big on returning things so I waited for the 4S to come out to upgrade. Since they added a 64 GB option I jumped at it. Now it's hard to drop down to anything smaller.

 

[load97]

Flickr has 10gb free photo storage. Google drive gives you 15gb. Dropbox gives u 2gb. Plenty of cloud options.



You have a smartphone, an iPhone to be exac Time to find some LTE coverage, it comes with the territory.




i know plenty of people happy with 8GB ip4s. the 16gb is only useless if you put media on it. Unless you're putting all the grand theft autos on your phone along with the newest games, 16gb is enough for lots and lots of apps.

Besides, most android phones come with 16gb or less standard, albeit u can stick a SD card in there and expand it.

--------------------
i have 32GB, but only because i drive a lot and there will be spotty coverage sometimes when streaming music from iTunes match. But even then, i only have my favorite artists on there and the rest of my 19k songs i stream from the cloud. Same thing with movies and tv shows, got a lot of them stored on my google drive.

the $70 tmobile unlimited data w/LTE works wonders

Your reasoning is not sound. Don't be a troll. Data caps limit cloud computing. No matter what size cap a person has, there's always Fear of not having enough to last the month without spending more.

 

[rumz]

I hope so. I am mad they didn't do it for the 5S. I seem to be in the minority though. Most posters here say they don't want more storage. They want more RAM, bigger screens, better cameras, but people swear up and down they don't want Apple to increase the base storage size.

I don't see a reason not to, other than that perhaps 128gb chips aren't as cheap or available as Apple would like to bump the entire lineup upwards.

16gb has been the base for a number of years now, and the cost on that only goes down. Certainly they could throw 32gb as the base capacity and not really be sacrificing more than pennies of margin.

 

[Jimmy James]

I'm mad that it isn't high, and Apple has everyone believing it is by charging $100 for an extra 16 GB. Then everyone thinks flash is so expensive and comes on here saying they never want Apple to increase the storage size because it is so expensive.
Are you saying the cost hasn't gone down in the last 5 years? Doesn't seem like Apple is passing the savings on to us.

I agree that Apple charges too much for memory. Way too much. That doesn't change the fact that 128 GB NAND storage is still prohibitively expensive.

 

[3lite]

Do whatever they want. Just keep the base model price at $199 max.