For all those who buy the very best phones, many customers opt for more affordable flagships, typically priced at or below $1,000.
This year, the competition has been fierce for the $800 mark, with Samsung launching the Galaxy S25 in January. Last month, Google followed with the Google Pixel 10 — complete with a new telephoto lens — and earlier this month, Apple showcased its vision for the $800 mark with the revamped Apple iPhone 17.
Google’s addition of a telephoto lens pits the base Pixel 10 against the Galaxy S25 as both offer a triple camera setup for the same $800. Yet, Apple chose to go the opposite direction, and the iPhone 17 offers most of the iPhone 17 Pro experience without the telephoto lens and the Pro price tag.
There’s also one key way that the iPhone 17 outperforms the Galaxy S25 and Pixel 10, and it’s the most surprising of all: value, thanks to the base storage.
All four new iPhones start at 256GB of storage
The days of varied starting storage — and some companies opting for low storage as a base model at a lower price — could be over if Apple has its way. All four new iPhones come with 256GB of storage, which makes a significant difference in daily usage.
Samsung and Google still sell some models with lower amounts of RAM and 128GB of base storage. The Galaxy S25, Pixel 10, and even the Pixel 10 Pro all start with 128GB of storage. As I recently found, this is no longer enough — even with Google Photos automatically offloading content as needed.
There’s a key reason for this, which Apple has recognized: more people are recording their daily lives. During a recent trade show visit, I also discovered this limit firsthand: while taking photos and recording videos, I encountered low-storage warnings on several occasions, which quickly became a point of concern.
The iPhone 17 offers the best value
An added benefit to Apple’s move to increase storage across the board is that the iPhone 17 offers more value than the competition at the same price.
Here’s a quick look at pricing for the key competitors at this price point, rounded up to the nearest dollar.
| 128GB | 256GB | 512GB | 1TB | |
| Apple iPhone 17 | – | $ 799 | $ 999 | – |
| Samsung Galaxy S25 | $ 800 | $ 860 | – | – |
| Google Pixel 10 | $ 799 | $ 899 | – | – |
It’s a particularly prescient upgrade at this price point, as budgets are more limited than in the flagship market. With Google and Samsung also opting to limit the maximum storage to the same 256GB that the iPhone 17 starts with — presumably to help entice more storage upgrades to cloud services — it means that the iPhone 17 has a further advantage thanks to its higher maximum capacity. There’s no doubt: the iPhone 17 offers the best value at this price segment.
How does this impact the pricing in the rest of the flagship segment? As we’ll see, at the flagship price point, this upgrade brings the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air on par with the competition, rather than leading the way as it does in the affordable flagship segment with the base iPhone 17.
| 128GB | 256GB | 512GB | 1TB | 2TB | |
| Apple iPhone 17 Pro | – | $ 1,099 | $ 1,299 | $ 1,499 | – |
| Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max | – | $ 1,199 | $ 1,399 | $ 1,599 | $ 1,999 |
| Apple iPhone Air | – | $999 | $ 1,199 | $ 1,399 | – |
| Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus | – | $ 1,000 | $ 1,120 | – | – |
| Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra | – | $ 1,300 | $ 1,420 | $ 1,660 | – |
| Google Pixel 10 Pro | $ 999 | $ 1,099 | $ 1,219 | $ 1,449 | – |
| Google Pixel 10 Pro XL | – | $ 1,199 | $ 1,319 | $ 1,549 | – |
This comparison gives us some interesting insights. First, Google and Samsung charge the same $120 premium for the jump from base storage to the next level, while Apple charges $200. Samsung also deserves further credit as it regularly runs promotions doubling the base storage, so in many cases, if you pre-order a Samsung phone, you’ll get an increase in storage at no extra cost.
The start of another trend?
It’s rare to see Apple start a trend when it comes to value, but I hope the base iPhone 17 does just this. 256GB should be the standard storage amount on every phone; there’s little reason not to.
An added benefit would be that 128GB phones often have slower storage read and write speeds, meaning the phone doesn’t feel as fast or as premium. The iPhone 17 proves that you don’t need to charge a premium, and we shouldn’t expect to.
A host of upgrades bring a near-identical experience to the iPhone 17 Pro, including the same excellent 6.3-inch screen, 40W fast charging, and 25W Qi2 magnetic wireless charging. However, the storage is undoubtedly the key advantage over the competition.
