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We’ve come a long way since 64GB smartphones were the standard, but 128GB simply doesn’t feel like enough. At a time when buyers are struggling to free up storage on their $1,000 smartphones, manufacturers have shifted their focus to upgrading other components. So why is that happening?
The Days of 64GB Base Storage
TheiPhone Xwas the first Apple smartphone to embrace an all-screen design; it featured a 5.8-inch OLED panel that supported 625 nits of peak brightness. However, to achieve that, Apple had to cram the front camera, along with theFace ID sensors, into a notch at the top of the screen. Apart from that, the phone featured Apple’s A11 Bionic chip (10nm), 3GB of RAM, and a mere 64GB of storage (with 256GB being the highest storage variant).
TheSamsung Galaxy S10, which came out two years later, was the first all-screen smartphone from the Korean tech giant. It sported a 6.1-inch AMOLED screen (with 1,200 nits peak brightness) with a much higher resolution (550 ppi), the powerful Snapdragon 855 (7nm) chipset, 6GB of RAM, and, pay close attention:128GB of storage right from the base variant.
As more people started capturing photos from their smartphones, the number of cameras also went up. The Galaxy S10 featured atriple-rear camera setup, including a primary, ultrawide, and telephoto sensor. With other specifications, the battery capacity on flagships also went up, on both Apple and Samsung handsets.
Even though Samsung introduced 128GB of base storage on its flagships in 2019, it wasn’t until 2021 that Apple followed suit. TheiPhone 13 was the first to jump from 64GB of base storageto 128GB, a welcome addition for all buyers. However, subsequent models haven’t seen any improvements in this area (barring a few exceptions).
Flagship Phones are Evolving, Except for Storage Options
Fast forward to 2024, flagships come with gigantic screens (around 6.7 inches), faster refresh rates, and up to three or four times the peak brightness. TheA18 Pro chipset on the iPhone 16 Prois about three to four times faster and, at the same time, vastly more efficient than the A11 on the iPhone X.
Even the cameras on flagship phones have been upgraded to use higher-resolution sensors. TheGalaxy S24 Ultra(with a 200MP primary camera) is a case in point. Both iOS and Android phones have also bumped up their battery capacity and connectivity technology (5G andWi-Fi 7) as well.
However, for some unearthly reason, smartphone makers haven’t upgraded the base storage on their flagship models, even when theprices have soared close to $1000(or even more for some models).
Bare Minimum Storage at Flagship Prices
Whether it is the $799.99Galaxy S24, the $899 iPhone 16 Plus, or the $1,099Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, all these smartphones have two things in common - they are all the latest flagships from the respective companies, and all of them feature 128GB of storage on the base variant.
I can go on and include more models, but these are enough to make the point that expensiveflagship smartphones that should come with the best-possible hardware(and software).
Yes, there are a few exceptions, like the top-speccediPhone 16 Pro Maxand the Galaxy S24 Ultra, as they ship with 256GB of storage, but thesephones cost well over $1,000. Have manufacturers unanimously decided that buyers paying any less don’t need more storage?
In 2024, even entry-level budget smartphones that cost $500 or less ship with 128GB of base storage. Take the $499Pixel 8aor the similarly-pricedOnePlus 12Ras an example. Even the $350Nothing Phone (2a)packs 128GB of storage.
Hope You Like Cloud Storage
You could argue that the flagships often featurefaster storage (UFS 4.0), but that doesn’t make up for the lack of space that occurs after a few months of usage. Even after paying a premium, owners have to spend a fair amount of time stressing about the storage running out,cleaning up their phones, or investing in portable storage devices likeexternal hard disks and flash drives, which aren’t cheap either.
While getting a storage device from a third party won’t benefit the manufacturers directly, getting a higher storage variant sure does. Usually, there’s a substantial difference (around $100) between the128GB and 256GB variants of a flagship, the latter being more expensive.
If you’re concerned about storage and wish to avoid the hassle of transferring data to and fro, you have to pay more upfront. On the other hand, if you already have a 128GBflagship that’s running out of storagequite frequently, you might think of getting a cloud storage subscription, which, again, puts money into the manufacturer’s pockets (unless they don’t have the facility).
I don’t have anything against cloud storage services. In fact, they make things convenient for people who are stuck with older smartphones with 64GB of storage (especially on tablets, as they aren’t upgraded that frequently), or people like me who can’t get the 256GB version of the flagships and end up relying on the affordable cloud storage pricing.
But shouldn’t cleaning up storage or planning topurchase cloud storagebe the last of anyone’s worries after spending twice or even thrice the money that buys a 128GB phone in the budget segment?
The More You Use Your Phone, the More Storage You Need
Before the global pandemic locked everyone in their homes, the number of apps users had on their smartphones was much less than in the post-pandemic era. From shopping for clothes to playing video games to claiming insurance, there’s an app for everything.
Therise in social media adoptionhas led people to take more pictures and record more videos than ever. This, again, occupies more storage, especially since higher-resolution cameras result in heavier photo/video sizes. Even theonline messaging appsthat have taken over our lives store all the media files shared in chats on our smartphones. Eventually, this fills up a significant chunk of the on-board storage.
And it’s not like a smartphone runs normally without empty storage.I recently upgraded from an iPhone 13 to the iPhone 16(with a massiveiCloud backup), and the moment it ran out of storage, there was asevere drop in performance. The same is true for Android flagships as well.
256GB Should Be the New Norm
256GB feels like the sweet spot in 2024 between controlling thecost of a smartphoneand allowing buyers to live their lives peacefully. We live in an era where smartphone storage is the currency spent on all digital experiences, whether it is to buy or sell something, for entertainment, for social interaction, or for productivity; every gigabyte counts.
Ideally, companies should let go of the dated 128GB storage variant in favor of 256GB as base storage, especially on phones that cost between $700 and $1,000. Fortunately, some have already started doing this. The newly-launched OnePlus 13 (successor of theOnePlus 12), which will soon reach the global markets, comes with 256GB of base storage.
There will come a time when even 256GB of base storage will feel like it isn’t enough. Just like128GB felt enough in the early 2020s, but it doesn’t feel enough anymore. In fact, it won’t surprise me if I find myself writing a similar article on how 256GB base storage isn’t enough some five years down the line, so join me then.
