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Why the iPhone 6 Has the Same Base Memory As the iPhone 5
Lucas123 writes When the iPhone 5 was launched two years ago, the base $199 (with wireless plan) model came with 16GB of flash memory. Fast forward to this week when the iPhone 6 was launched with the same capacity. Now consider that the cost of 16GB of NAND flash has dropped by more than 13% over the past two years. So why would Apple increase capacity on its $299 model iPhone 6 to 64GB (eliminating the 32GB model), but but keep the 16GB in the $199 model? The answer may lie in the fact that the 16GB iPhone is, and has been, by far the best selling model. IHS analyst Fang Zhang believes Apple is using that to push users to its iCloud storage service. Others believe restricting storage capacity allows Apple to afford the new features, like NFC and biometrics.
Its only to drive people to use cloud services and buy the expensive model for more capacity. Apple would be stupid to satisfy its users.
In an age where 16 GB is available as RAM on many desktops and laptops, it's stupid to sell/buy a computer with only 16 GB persistent storage.
The iPhone is just an underpowered palm computer with touch interface instead of keyboard/mouse of a laptop. Is the portability premium so high, or the case so shiny, that we have to pay 2 times the cost of a powerful laptop while getting computing power/memory of a 5 year old laptop?
BTW, please stop calling flash as "Memory" (in the title) because memory is often confused with RAM.
Best selling means that most actual consumers think that 16 GB is enough. That means that while _you_ want more storage in a smartphone, most people don't. That doesn't make them wrong. :-)
Enable 3D printed prosthetics!
Yeah, don't store the stuff locally because that needs power and then stream the content over the air instead, because that doesn't need power.
That's about right. I just checked my iPhone (4s), and in over two years of use, never cleaning anything, I've barely passed 5GB. By far the biggest use of space is recorded videos, followed by photos, then several big apps.
I'm not going to say "16 gigabytes ought to be enough for anybody," but it is enough for many people right now. Maybe they use ICloud, or maybe they're following good habits to move photos off of their easily-lost phone, or maybe like me their primary usage model is streaming and other ephemeral data. I just don't see a pressing need to add more memory on the low-end model. There doesn't have to be some sneaky marketing plan to say "this is good enough for now."
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
If most users are buying 16 GB phones and are happy with that, why would Apple add more storage to the base model? Instead they can take the dollar or two saved and use that to pay for the improved camera, glass, etc., which people might care about more.
Enable 3D printed prosthetics!
I only found a courve of the "2008 to end of 2010" prices. Which interestingly rose to double the value in the middle, just to be back on the 2008 level in 2010.
https://technology.ihs.com/388...
But one interesting fact seems to be, that spot price for 16GB NAND Flash seems only 19 cents below 32GB NAND Flash (2.79 vs 2.98 ):
http://www.insye.com/dp/NANDFl...
(with 4 and 8GB being *more* expensive, probably because they are not produced in high volumes any more)
An expanded memory will be the new wonderful feature of the iPhone 7 that all the world was expecting.
So true. I wonder what the ratio business/consumer is. For a business user who needs internet, mail, phone, and maybe a few additional apps, 16 will be completely appropriate. I think this is part of the reason for the jump to 64. You either need very little additional space, or you need significantly more.
Ok, I give up, why you?
Local music can easily blow through that limit. Mine does. Streaming stuff is fine in urban areas, but if you travel outside of urban areas with little phone service regularly, and you don't want to carry another device, it's pretty irritating to be significantly limited in the amount to music you can carry.
Apple users are such whiners. If 16GB is not enough, just insert a TF card.
The iPhone 6 comes with 1 Gb of memory. And has options for 16, 64 and 128 Gb of storage.
Why does this even get published?
I apologize for the lack of a signature.
You're using the word 'powerful' to describe an Apple Laptop, aren't you. As in 'powerfully overpriced.' Or 'powerful' in the sense that Limburgher Cheese has a powerful smell. Right?
Because power in computing is defined by what the user does with the hardware using software, not what some marketing price point dictates. And a powerful laptop ten years ago is still powerful today, thus a $300 laptop from WalMart is powerful in the right hands. A $1600 Mac Book Pro in the hands of the typical user is no more powerful than a $200 chromebook. But it looks shiney.
I'm waiting for the Slashdot story about how obviously no one will ever need more than 640k of memory ever.
I do want to rant out about iPhone 6 memory though. 1GB is ridiculously low. They claim it was a choice to reduce battery use.
Using the gopro with 240 fps on the gopro app on a Galaxy S4 is a nightmare and I envision that it will be the same on the iPhone. Not quite sure how they plan on getting good performance even for in-phone features.
_My_ car has a 6 bbl carburetor
I listen to the spec war arguments among my under-30 developers and all I hear is my friends sitting around a garage in 1978 arguing over whose engine had more horsepower. HP which they could never use because of the poor state of tires, steering systems, and suspension design in the 1970s. I could pop a new chip in my 2012 family sedan and vaporize any of those 1970s garage rods at the stoplight with half the nominal horsepower. It is all about what suits the purpose, not who has the "better" spec numbers.
sPh
Interesting thing is that the majority of Android spec warrior techs I meet are adamant Microsoft partisans and not only hate all things Apple but Unix and Linux as well.
https://www.samsung.com/global...
SD card for storage up to 128 GB, 4K video, etc.
When you buy an iPhone 6 you're reaching backwards.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
I agree. That's why I prefer phones with removable storage. I have a 64gb card in mine with all my music on it.
"During My Service In The United States Congress, I Took The Initiative In Creating The Internet." -Al Gore
It's a value decision. Consumers didn't want to pay a $100 premium for the additional 16GB.
Why add more? To sell more stuff on iTunes, that's why.
We have a pair of 16GB iPads. They are chock full and have been for awhile.
Some apps are approaching 2GB each now (Real Racing and Infinity Toy Box are two examples).
We could fill 64GB without any trouble. It would be nice to be able to download more than two movies for offline use as well.
If it were priced reasonable, I'd be happy to pay a bit more for storage. But when a 256GB SSD is approaching $100, it is insulting to charge $100 for 48GB of storage. Double that when you consider the SSD has no other income stream (iTunes) and has to come with a controller and processor. The iPad/iPhone already has those, so the jump from 16GB to 128GB would cost Apple perhaps $20.
Even selling that for $100 is nuts, but fair enough.
Then add a microSD slot with support for 64GB memory slot.
You seem to think that a microSD card is an unambiguously positive feature. It is not. You seem to understand the upside but let me lay out the downsides:
1) It adds bulk to the phone for a feature that most customers do not care about and will not use
2) It adds to the cost of the product for design, manufacturing, warranty, and support (again for a feature few will actually use)
3) It reduces the reliability of the device by a small but statistically significant amount. When you are selling these in the millions that adds up to substantial expense.
4) Adding the microSD card comes at the expense of other features that could occupy that space such as additional battery capacity.
5) It is a vector for dust and debris to enter the phone (see point 3 above)
6) It requires supporting third party hardware that may have compatibility issues
7) SD cards come in a variety of speeds and people will inevitably buy SD cards that are not fast, incompatible or have other performance issues
8) It complicates the software on the device and almost certainly will result in bugs.
9) The functionality can be replicated in other ways that may (and in fact are) preferable to other people such as wirelessly syncing data to other devices.
10) SD cards basically are modern day floppy disks. Do we *really* need to go back to those?
I can keep going. If you want a microSD card on your phone because that is critical to you then there are plenty of excellent options available to you, particularly among Android phones. Pick one and stop trying to tell everyone that they are stupid because they don't care to do things just like you would.
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I think you got your logic backwards. Apple's pricing for iPhones has always been in $100 increments from base.
The fact that they removed the 32GB and made the next increment 64GB represents an increase in value to the end user.
iPhone 5S, 16GB - $649
iPhone 5S, 32GB - $749
iPhone 5S, 64GB - $849
Now compare iPhone 6:
iPhone 6, 16GB - $649
iPhone 6, 64GB - $749
iPhone 6, 128GB - $849
What 32GB users grumbling?!?!
Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick - just how much music do you need? On my (recently replaced with a 32gb 5S*) 16gb 4S I could have a ton of apps, several hundred photos, and still have room for six days (continuous play, no repeat) worth of tunes.
As the grandparent said, this isn't some sneaky marketing plan... I suspect16gb really is enough for most common usage.
*Pretty much just because I could.
The title says Memory, but they're talking about Storage.
The answer is that a lot of people use less than 16GB of storage. The more interesting question is why the 32GB doesn't exist.
I think it's because people either don't use much storage at all, like my mom or girlfriend who just use the iPhone for email, Safari, Twitter, Words with Friends, Facebook, and streaming music. For them, 16GB is more than enough.
Once you start collecting music, photos, videos and such, 32GB is not nearly enough, so 64GB kicks in. While 32GB would be enough for those in between casual users and media collectors... say those that just take a lot of pictures, but nothing else, the numbers of these people are too small to support a 32GB offering in the line up and Apple is better off bumping these people up to 64GB.
It's not just music. Movies take a lot more space. And you don't necessarily know days in advance which piece of music will be apropos in a particular situation.