One of the questions you must ask yourself when buying a smartphone, whether it be an Android phone or an iPhone, is how much phone storage do you need?
The need for phone storage varies from person to person. While some will be OK with the bare minimum, others will need more storage space to horde apps, music, pictures, and videos. This is why mobile manufacturers offer people different storage options for each model.
Since the phone’s storage is a big deal for the end users, the prices of such devices vary in terms of storage spaces, sometimes even drastically. The bigger the storage, the higher the price; this is how it usually works. Let’s take Apple’s latest iPhone 13 Pro Max as an example. You can buy the base model with 128GB storage space for £1,049. However, if you need double (256GB) or even quadruple (512GB) storage, you will have to pay £100 and £200 extra, respectively.
So, the question is: will the base storage space be enough for you, or should you spend some cold hard cash to buy a phone with more storage?
Even though the choice of storage space depends on your need, we’ll help you figure out how much phone storage you need.
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What is the Difference Between Internal Storage and Memory?
Before we go on, address the all-important question: how much phone storage do you need in 2024? Let’s look at the difference between a phone’s storage and memory. It is important because some people consider these two to be the same.
The memory, aka RAM, is a part of your phone that temporarily allows the processor to store data whenever an app is launched from scratch. In contrast, the phone’s storage permanently keeps your files, pictures, videos, and apps.
Let’s put it this way; your mind will act as a memory when someone gives you a number to note down and writing down that number on a notepad will resemble the function of a phone’s storage.
Wondering what the purpose of storing data temporarily in the RAM is? Your phone’s processor uses this small space to retrieve and dump data quickly. This way, it doesn’t have to access the slower internal storage space every time, to open an app.
The higher the RAM, the quicker your phone will be, enabling you to switch between apps without lag. Without it, your apps will completely shut down upon switching to others, causing your phones to slow down.
Questions You Need to Ask Yourself Before Buying a Phone with Extra Storage Space
To help you stop wondering how much phone storage you need to keep your needs in check, we implore you to ask yourself:
1) How Often Do I Upgrade My Phone?
If you compare the average storage spaces of new smartphones with the old ones, you will realize that even the base models of the new phones come with sufficient storage spaces. I’ll give you an example of the iPhone here once again. In 2021, Apple Inc. increased its base storage from 64GB to 128GB.
If the Android phone manufacturers comply with this trend, you will most likely see phones with a minimum of 128GB storage in the coming years.
So, the reason behind asking yourself this question is if you buy a new phone every year, then you should have no concerns about the storage space. You will likely use a phone with a good base storage space.
2) Do I Take a Lot of Pictures or Make Tons of Videos?
If you tend to both make videos and take photos, then you’re going to need some extra space as filming in 4K will cost you as much as 300MB of your storage space per minute, and each picture usually requires a storage space of 5MBs to squeeze in.
3) How Much Free Storage Space Do I Have on my Phone?
Check your phone’s storage space to see how much free space you currently have on your phone. If you’re pushing the limit, then it means that your next phone should have extra storage space.
Follow the steps given below to check your storage space if you’re using an iPhone:
- Go to your phone’s ‘Settings.’
- Tap ‘General.’
- Scroll up and down to find the ‘iPhone Storage’ option and tap it.
Follow the steps given below to check your storage space if you’re using an Android phone (Samsung):
- Go to your phone’s ‘Settings.’
- Tap Device Care or Device Maintenance.
- Scroll up and down to find ‘Storage’ and tap it.
Asking yourself these questions will give you an idea of how much phone storage you need to cater to your requirements.
How Much Phone Storage Do You Need?
Many factors such as the number of photos you take, the number of apps you have installed on your phones, and the sizes of those apps can influence your phone storage needs. Like we said before, some people will be happy with the bare minimum, while others will make a face at the sight of phones with less than 256GB of storage space.
However, it’s not like you can purchase new phones every day, and because the system files may now end up consuming 30 percent of your Android phone’s storage, it’s better if you take 64 GB phones out of the equation and go for the one with 128GB storage when it comes to purchasing a new phone.
As time passes, the size of the Android OS’s updates will continue to increase. On top of that, if you have a penchant for taking pictures, you may end up pushing the limits of your 64GB phones.
Will 128GB Phone Storage Be Enough for Me?
A 128GB phone storage is good enough for iOS and Android users. While the 64GB storage space may look good on paper, you need to understand that the entire space won’t be available at your disposal. The pre-installed apps and the OS eat up quite a lot of space. On the other hand, a 128GB storage space can store about 35 thousand photos or 20 hours of videos on average. However, the number of pictures and recording hours may vary depending on the quality of the camera. So, it is safe to say that you can go on and use a phone with 128GB storage capacity without worrying much, even if you plan to use it for the next 2 or 3 years.
Therefore, you should go for 128GB without hesitation, as it will balance out the price-to-value ratio and give you much-needed peace of mind even if you turn out to be a heavy user.
Ways to Increase Storage Space on Your Phone
If you’re still unsure how much phone storage you need to cover your needs, you can take comfort in knowing there are ways to expand your phone’s storage space.
Some of the ways to do it are listed below:
1) Expand Your Phone’s Storage Using MicroSD Cards
This option is not available for iPhone users; why? We’ll get back to it later. On the other hand, Android users can quickly expand the storage spaces of their phones via a microSD card.
You can slip a microSD card on the side of your phone and use it to store video and photos. However, it would help if you did not get too excited about it because each device has its limitations regarding accepting extended storage. For example, Samsung Galaxy S20 can support a card with 1TB storage space. So, if any of you got the idea of buying a cheap smartphone with 32GB base storage space and expanding it via an SD card, they should scrap it off the table.
Now let us get back to why an iPhone doesn’t support a microSD card. Well, the thing is, Apple Inc. likes to make money. That is why they charge a hefty sum for all of their products. However, they also want to ensure the quality of their phone’s storage. They need it to be flawless to work perfectly for at least ten years.
Granting users the provision to expand their phone’s storage on their own will mean they’re getting out of Apple’s control. So, you’ll have to pay an extra price if you want to continue using iPhone and need more space.
2) Use Cloud Storage to Your Advantage
You can also use cloud storage platforms to get much-needed storage space for your phone. It doesn’t matter if you use an Android phone or iPhone; you can use these services to back up your media files and delete them from your local storage to make room for others. Most cloud storage services are free to use, but there will be a cap on size at some point.
Even though there are plenty of options for iPhone and Android users when choosing cloud storage services, we suggest using Google Drive for Android phones and iCloud for iPhones. These two cloud services stand out as far as data security is concerned.
Google Drive allows its users to upload 15GB of data for free. However, if you want to upload more data, you must pay a monthly fee for the additional space. But you should not worry about it much because the price for additional cloud storage space is not as hefty if you compare it with the price of a phone with extra storage space.
iCloud, on the other hand, is perfect for iPhones. The app comes pre-installed on all iPhones. iCloud only offers a free storage space of 5GB, much less than Google Drive. However, you can get extra storage space for a small monthly fee.
You know what? iPhone users can use Google Drive for storing their data, and Android phone users can use iCloud for the same purpose. All they have to do is download the apps from their respective app stores and create their accounts.
The question: How much phone storage do you need? Doesn’t have a definitive answer. It’s really up to you to decide which storage space suits you the best, but if your calculations go wrong somehow, you can use these methods to cover your needs.
What Should I Delete if My Phone Storage is Whole?
Nothing can frustrate you more than a ‘Phone Storage Full’ notification. So, if you’re about to push your phone’s limit, you can use these tips to free up some space.
1) Clear Your Cache
The cached data eats up the storage space without you even knowing it. Your phones use this data to load apps quickly. Although not all apps will take up much space, some may consume over 100MBs of your phone’s storage. Therefore, Android users need to clean the cached data of all apps, iPhone users may not be able to perform this action against all apps.
2) Get Rid of the Pre-installed Apps
Seeing all the useless pre-installed apps taking up space on your phone can be frustrating. Moreover, you cannot get rid of all of them makes them even more cringe-worthy. However, you should immediately uninstall the ones you can and free up your valuable storage space.
As for the ones that cannot be uninstalled, you can stop them from running in the background by disabling them from your phone’s settings. Doing so will prevent them from receiving updates and restrict the amount of storage they are consuming.
Interesting Read: 4 Instant Ways to Free Up Space on Your Phone
Well, there you have it, you now know everything there is to know about how much phone storage you need. We hope this information will help you purchase a phone that will cater to your storage needs.
