As we get closer to September, the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6C rumors have been coming thick and fast. The latest tip-off to come from inside the supply chain suggests that Apple’s getting ready to ditch the 16GB storage level, and that this year’s models will only be available with 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB of storage. Interestingly the revamped iPod Touch devices launched earlier this week can still be picked up with 16GB of storage.
The prediction comes courtesy of Foxconn sources speaking to MIC Gadget so take the news as very much unofficial for the time being. Still, it might be worth preparing yourself for the disappearance of the 16GB edition of the phone — it’s not very practical these days, but it does give buyers a budget iPhone option if they spend most of their lives in the cloud.
Previous leaks purporting to show the innards of the next iPhone seemed to confirm a low-capacity model was on the way — a 16GB flash storage chip was spotted in the images — but MIC Gadget says that was just a test model, and the editions going on sale to consumers will in fact start at 32GB. Very few flagship models now offer a 16GB version as an option, with the Samsung Galaxy S6, LG G4, and HTC One M9 all starting at 32GB.
Even with the growth of cloud services like Spotify and Netflix, local storage is still important: Photos and videos are improving in quality and size all the time, and modern-day apps (particularly games) are getting bigger too.
With that in mind the phasing out of the 16GB would be long overdue, but we’ll have to wait until September to see what Apple actually has in store. The new iPhones are expected to follow a similar design to last year’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, though there will be some speed and performance improvements, and possibly an upgraded dual-lens camera. Check out our full iPhone rumor round-up for everything we think we know so far.
