Poll results: How much storage do you need for your smartphone?
While it may not be the first thing to cross your mind when evaluating which smartphone to buy, storage capacity is one spec that can make or break a user's smartphone experience. In our poll last week, we asked what you consider to be the minimum storage amount you'll accept in a smartphone. Here are the results.
Smartphone users require more and more storage with each passing year thanks to system updates, photos, videos and other files increasing in both size and quantity. Once you get down to just a few GB left, you'll find yourself hesitating to download new apps and take new photos, and constantly trying to find old ones to get rid of to make space. Lack of storage space can turn an otherwise great phone into a nightmare.
In our poll last week, we asked what your minimum storage requirements are, and the top result, with 40 percent of the vote, was 64 GB. That seems to be just right for most users. 128 GB was the second most popular choice with 21 percent of the vote, leaving the smaller end of the storage spectrum decisively in the dust, finally. Let's hope manufacturers take notice of that! 32 GB and 16 GB are hardly contenders anymore, with just 12 and 3 percent of the vote, respectively. 256 GB is still off most people's minds, for now, with only 10 percent saying this is their desired minimum storage amount.
It's not just about internal storage, though. 13 percent of voters said that the amount of internal storage didn't matter to them as long as the smartphone has microSD support. Cloud storage hasn't quite caught on as a favored, reliable storage method, with only 2 percent of voters saying it matters more to them than internal storage.
The comments reveal that users often use a combination of internal storage, microSD cards and cloud services for all their storage needs. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages, of course.
Buying a phone with more internal storage can cost significantly more. Cloud storage sometimes isn't accessible, with mobile data dead zones and the near-extinction of reasonable unlimited data plans. Even microSD cards have their downsides, despite offering a ton of storage space for relatively little money compared to what the equivalent internal storage would cost.
One commenter, BHO, had plenty of storage with a 16 GB Honor 7 with a 32 GB SD card and cloud storage, however, it was too much of a pain to manually move apps after each update, which ruined the experience. BHO has since upgraded to a 128 GB Huawei Mate 10 Pro and is much happier. Still, several users said they wouldn't consider buying a device without microSD card compatibility.
Do you agree with the results? Should 64 GB be the bare minimum for internal storage on new smartphones from now on? Let us know what you think in the comments.
I feel all phones should have 64 GB minimum. SD card is nice but you're not always able to store apps on it. I bought the 128 GB Pixel 2 for that reason and know that I have plenty of storage along with all my photos and videos being stored on Google photos.
Having more storage is good, but how you use your storage is almost as important. I'm in the sdcard camp, and am rooted, so my options are fairly open to what I can do, Even with nougat, I can put apps on the card, link them to internal(plus folders too). Except for really core apps that are needed for android to work, that I don't move, I can move almost anything, maps on sd, Gmail, ditto, earth, tuning apps, substratum themes and overlays, etc. These apps work fine on sd, and open quickly, so access isn't a problem. If you manipulate(be careful though), you can do wonders on a phone with at least 32gb of internal storage, as long as you use a quality sdcard.
From my point of view, I think 32GB of storage is enough. With little attention to space management even 16 GB. And 128 GB storage and even 512 GB are just for very special uses, as well as very expensive phones.
Cloud storage including free bids and high Wi-Fi speeds now allow for a synchronization of photos and movies (the main space-consuming) to be much easier to keep in the cloud.
If there was not a silly need for unnecessarily large storage space, manufacturers could better focus on other important aspects of the phone.
Let the people know, how you use that storage is almost as important as how much you got.
I think 64gb's should be the standard on flagship 's. I will not purchase a phone without micro s/d support. But that's just me. I use the s8+ then add a 128gb scan disk card. It gives me all I will ever need for storage, photo's & music!
32 gig is enough for me (with regards to internal memory); provided there's a micro SD card slot (most smart phones will take a 128 gig micro SD card, although a good quality 64gig micro SD card has gone down in price to what a 16gig used to go for - that's plenty for me).
Because flash memory is more affordable (and has increased memory capacity), I agree that your average 16gig - 32gig internal memory smart phone should come with 64gig and not cost a penny more.
Cloud storage is great for syncing a smart phone with a computer. It's also handy for quickly saving what's on a smart phone to transfer later onto a replacement / upgrade. Cloud storage should no longer be the selling point (ie those Google Nexus models that guaranteed extra space on your Google Drive? It's no longer relevant).
I think the next inquiry / opinion poll is going to be how much RAM should a smart phone come with (minimum 2gig? 3gig? 4gig?) 🤔