Limited iPhone storage is the problem of yesteryear, study reveals

Having no storage on your iPhone is no longer a problem.

Smartphone buying tendencies show that users are keen on finding the best model that provides them with useful features and is cost-friendly. This is why many don't shy away from buying an older smartphone.

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), which tracks and analyzes tendencies related to Apple products, share that two main key factors drive iPhone sales: model choice and storage upgrades.

Another important aspect when buying a phone is its storage capacity. For this reason, Apple is offering different storage upgrade options that cost from $100 to $500.

It's been reported that these charges increase the company's profit as the prices for added storage surpass the costs of a bigger storage chip.

CIRP has conducted a study that shows how important storage upgrades are to iPhone users.

The study divides Apple smartphones into three categories: the leading edge (iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max), the flagships (iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus), and the legacy phones (iPhone 15, 14, and SE).

Most Apple smartphone models come with 128GB storage, with the latest iPhone model equipped with 256GB and the iPhone SE having 64GB storage, with the possibility of increasing its capacity.

How often do people feel the urge to upgrade their storage? According to the data for the December 2024 quarter, the storage upgrade for Pro/ Pro Max smartphones decreased by 4% compared with the previous year.

The same happened with the base smartphone category, which shows that storage updates decreased by 6%.

This change could be due to the larger storage capacity of the Base/Plus and Pro/Pro Max devices, which is enough for the consumer.

The same can't be said about legacy smartphones. In 2024, the need for storage updates increased by 10%.

There are several reasons for this increase. First, those who are buying older iPhones could be upgrading from even older smartphones, so they already know what it's like to be restricted by storage limits and want to avoid that.

The storage increase could also be a sign that a user wants to use their smartphone for longer and "invests" in larger storage.

These patterns show a possible challenge for Apple. While users may be tempted by new features, better cameras, or longer battery life, they might care less about storage upgrades since on-phone storage is enough for them.