Internal memory is one of the most important aspects of a smartphone. The base amount of internal memory has been making steady, natural progression over the years; 4GB of internal storage was pretty awesome eight years ago, followed by 8, and then 16. For the past couple of years, many manufacturers have been pushing for devices to use a base model of 32GB as the base amount of internal memory. The HTC One M7 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 did in 2013, the LG G3 did in 2014, and the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge joined the club in 2015.
Apple, however, is mysteriously missing from this growing list of manufacturers supporting the 32GB base model smartphones.
When Apple announced last September that the base model iPhone 6 would still support 16GB of internal storage I was surprised. When I learned that Apple decided to forego the 32GB model entirely and jump straight to 64GB as the middle model I was floored. Although users would technically be getting a “better” deal by choosing the middle iPhone this time around, there was absolutely no reason not to bump up the 16GB base model to 32GB. Other than, of course, cutting costs (for Apple). And the fact that yes, the base model would still sell really well. There would just be more people willing to fork over an extra $100 for the 64GB model because it’s 4 times the amount they would have gotten otherwise.
It’s the perfect crime.
No matter how loudly people want to hate on iOS, it’s still doing really well for itself. Apple was the first to make a name for smartphones, and even 8 years later they’re still able to work off of that reputation today (even if it isn't the monopoly that it once was). As much as I love iOS and feel that it is a great operating system for a lot of people, there is a certain amount of prestige around simply having the Apple logo on a product. Whether it’s because of the notoriously high prices of Apple gadgets or the fact that iOS is just a solid, simple platform that doesn’t take much maintenance, Apple is still holding strong on the loyalty front.
So, fine. The iPhone 6 still has a 16GB base model. I think it was a lame move, but surely they'll bump it up for the iPhone 6s, right? I mean, that's pretty much the easiest way to pump people up.
When I first read that there is a very big possibility that the iPhone 6s would still end up using a 16GB base model, I was just baffled. But then I realized that there was nothing that baffling about this. Apple is still in a position where people will buy their products no matter what, and they can totally get away with it. If they can get away with cutting the costs on their end and still make a profit, why wouldn’t they do it?
At the same time, I think the move would be dire this time around. With Apple Music just having made its debut – and one of the main features of Apple Music being that users can download playlists to their devices for offline listening, taking up vast amounts of memory for people with extensive playlists – then they’re kind of shooting themselves in the foot. I know that I’m not interested in paying for Apple Music with an iPhone that only has 16GB of internal memory, but I’m also the type of person who prefers to go with the base model of phones. Between the amount of photos I take, apps I download, and music I want to listen to, it adds up to waaaaaay more than 16GB (or whatever the actual amount of storage a user can use, in the iPhone’s case it’s 12GB) and I'm somewhere in the upper level of a casual smartphone user.
Even cloud storage can’t offload all of the things I use my phone for, although it does help alleviate some of the congestion.
If Apple chooses to give the iPhone 6S a 16GB base amount, I think they’ll still be able to get away with it. However, I think this is the last time that they’ll be able to, and they’re not going to be as easily forgiven for it this time around either. Hopefully it's only a rumor and they go ahead and move up to a 32GB model, but if not it would be both the smartest and the sleaziest thing they could do with the iPhone 6s.
