Hacker News Reader

Comment by BinaryIdiot | Hacker News Reader

It's 2015, they just added 4K recording and a higher megapixel camera and the base model is STILL 16GB? Is this a joke? I just can't understand that at all. That space is going to get used up so fast. Android manufacturers have the same issue so it's not like it's an Apple only problem.

The minimum at this point should be 32GB.

View on HN

They've lowered the prices for iCloud storage, so you _could_ argue that keeping the base size at 16GB is a means to get more people to sign up for iCloud.

That would be great if they also announced an end to data caps and high prices for cell service...

It's so that they can reel you in with the lower price but end up selling you a much more expensive device for minimum extra manufacturing cost.

Except many many people don't know any better and get the cheapest one (and then have trouble updating because there is no space).

Absolutely. Then Apple can sell them iCloud storage for this photos. I don't agree with this practice, there really shouldn't be an 16GB iPhone.

I believe this is a push to get users to use iCloud, for which they also announced pricing updates.

16GB is fine. Lots of people don't even download apps.

That's fine except, at least anecdotally, I've only seen photos and videos take up the majority of the space. I'm not sure what's typical of the average person but everyone I know with kids takes gigabytes and gigabytes of photos and videos every year with their phone.

It's fine for lots of people, but those aren't the people that Apple wants to target. The last thing Apple wants is people who find they can't download more apps and music (putting money into Apple's pockets) because they don't have enough space.

I need to keep a separate iPod because there's not enough room on my iPhone for much of my music collection. (I only have a handful of apps). And for what? An extra sixteen gigs of flash memory costs a few bucks nowadays.

Lots of people don't even download apps.

Would you care to expand on this? Thanks.

"The app asked UK mobile carrier Telefonica/O2 about iPhone storage space in the UK. What they found was pretty shocking: 91% of iPhones in the UK have 16GB or less of storage."

Source: http://uk.businessinsider.com/iphone-storage-data-market-sha...

A close friend has a 16gb iPhone 5 with no available storage. Where is all the storage used? Message history. I'm not kidding - zero non-default apps, very few photos, message history for presumably the entire time she has had an iOS device which consumes (according to iTunes) over 14gb.

The real kicker is Apple has provided no first-party way to extract images from message history.

(EDIT: I am aware of the "keep entire message history"/"keep 1 year message history" setting - we are trying to extract photos from backup using 3rd party software so we can flip that switch. This is very non-intuitive and requires the use of an external device)

Speak for yourself. I don't install anything or take any photos with my phone. I just use it to make calls and browse the web so I very much doubt I will ever use up 16GB.

Okay? I'm not sure what your specific usage really added to the discussion especially considering the camera phone is typically people's only camera nowadays so I feel like you'd be an outlier if anything. Photos and video already take up a huge amount of space on the phone; I don't even take a ton of pictures of my kids (my SO usually does) but even my phone, after 6 months of usage, has 3 gigabytes taken up in photos and videos. It goes really, really quick.

With 4K and 12 megapixels? It's going to go by so fast...

A lot of people use their phone that way. If no-one was buying the 16 gig version Apple would stop making it.

That logic doesn't isn't really iron clad since people could also be buying the 16GB because it is the cheapest version of the shiny new iPhone they want. If you want to use iOS, you're either paying for the base 16GG or paying a lot of money for the higher storage tier, there isn't a cheaper option.

The problem is most consumers don't realize what they're getting themselves into. Apple will make a profit on those who upgrade knowing better, but many won't.

When grandma needs to learn how to manage storage, this is going to make everybody's life harder, from people who do tech support to application developers who need to rethink how they use application storage space.

Literally, the only player who benefits here is Apple. And even that is disputable due to the problems it will cause to iPhone app developers who now need to be extremely cautious about storage use.

> The minimum at this point should be 32GB.

That's no discussion. That's a commandment like it's a fact no-one needs 16 GB. That's what I'm disputing.

Then why buy an iPhone?

Because the buttery smooth interface and non-existent lag when browsing the web.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com