Skip to main content

16GB iPhone owner? Google thinks you don't have enough storage

Google Photos: Free Up Space
Google doesn’t think your iPhone has enough storage, and wants to help out those poor iPhone users with Google Photos, which uploads photos to the cloud so that they don’t have to take up space on the phone.

To help bring Photos to the masses, the company has published a pretty awesome ad touting Photos’ ‘Free Up Space’ feature. The ad basically shows situation after situation in which the user is unable to take a photo of an important moment (like watching a friend jump over a fence) because the phone has run out of memory.

Recommended Videos

Of course, rumors indicate that Apple will in fact get rid of the 16GB storage option in favor of a slightly higher minimum, which many expect will be 32GB. Still, with apps increasing in size, we could all always use a little extra storage, which is where Google Photos comes into play.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Free Up Space doesn’t just have great ads — it’s also a great service, especially when it’s paired up with the unlimited storage you can get with “high quality” backups (which are slightly lower quality than original quality). Of course, it’s important to note that Apple can back up your photos with iCloud, however you’ll have to pay extra if you use up all that storage, no matter what quality the photos are.

In any case, whether you favor iPhone or Android, iCloud or Google Photos, we can all appreciate a good dig at the rival company. That’s even if Google ends up also using the ad to promote the Nexus 6P that appears at the end after all those iPhone warnings, and even if — let’s be honest — plenty of Android users face the same dilemma.

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
iPhone 17 Pro camera specs leaked. There are good and bad changes
Mockup of redesigned iPhone 17 Pro.

There's new information about this year's iPhone 17 smartphone lineup, all concerning the cameras found on the phones. Depending on opinions, the news could be viewed as a mix of good and bad.

Firstly, leaker Digital Chat Station confirmed an earlier report by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that said the company plans to make significant camera upgrades on the 2025 iPhone lineup.

Read more
The iPhone 17 may get one of the biggest design changes in five years
An image of the back of an iPhone 16.

The iPhone has had a distinctive look since its initial release in 2007. Sure, the sizes have changed, as have materials, but you can generally glance at an iPhone of any generation and say, "Yeah, that's an iPhone." Now, a rumor suggests that the iPhone 17 could draw inspiration from its predecessors and bring back the curved edges that have appeared several times throughout the generations.

Leaker Fixed-Focus Digital shared on Weibo (a Chinese social media platform) that the iPhone 17 would reintroduce the rounded sides of the first few iPhones, doing away with the straight edges current models have. Some fans find the straight sides less comfortable to hold, although a case can make a big difference in how the phone feels in your hand. Fixed-Focus Digital doesn't share further details, but Apple tends to differentiate its premium lineup from the base models. The design change could apply only to the base versions of the iPhone 17, to only the Pro and Pro Max versions, or to every version.

Read more
This new Belkin accessory transforms your iPhone into a digital camera
The Belkin Stage PowerGrip attached to an iPhone.

The iPhone has a powerful camera built-in, but what if you could turn it into a proper digital camera that can keep you snapping Ansel Adams-worthy pictures all day long? Belkin's newest accessory promises to do just that, and we really hope it works. The Stage Power Grip is a more ergonomically designed accessory that helps you take great shots while reducing shake, and it's just been announced at CES 2025.

Belkin hopes to release the Stage Power Grip sometime in May, but that date isn't set in stone (nor is the price). It functions as both a button to take pictures and a grip to help you keep a steady hand. It attaches to your iPhone via MagSafe and includes a 10,000mAh power bank, too. There's also a built-in USB-C cable for charging other devices (as well as your iPhone, if needed).

Read more