Apple iPhone 14 Pro in Peel thin case. Will the next iPhones double their storage levels?
August 11 update below. This post was first published on August 8, 2023.
It’s not long now until Apple releases its next iPhone series, that is, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max (although this last might just have another name). Want to know exactly when the iPhones will be unveiled and released for sale? Read full details here.
Two new reports claim there will be a very big upgrade to the coming handsets for an important element in any phone: storage space.
Up To 2TB Storage For iPhone 15 Pro
First, according to Korean blogger yeux1122, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models will have a bigger storage option. They say, courtesy of Apple Translate, “This is the supplier source. The Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Max models will have a new 2-tera option this time.” The blogger’s emphasis may be to do with the fact that a 2TB iPhone was predicted before but never materialized. Current storage levels for the iPhone are 128GB, 256GB and 512GB for all models plus, for the Pro iPhones only, 1TB.
If the report is right, there will be an extra tier with 2TB capacity. If that seems overkill, it may not be. Extra storage can be important because, although much of our digital lives is stored in the cloud (such as iCloud), we increasingly need storage on the phones themselves.
Some iPhone features require higher storage levels, such as recording ProRes video in 4K resolution at a speed of 30 frames per second. With the iPhone 14 Pro, you need 256GB storage or higher. Models with the entry-level storage of 128GB can only shoot ProRes at 30 frames per second at 1080P resolution.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro. How much storage is enough?
Storage Could Start At 256GB
And then there’s the second report, spotted by MacRumors. In a Weibo account, it’s also claimed that the top end of the 15 Pro series will have 2TB capacity. But the report goes on to make a second assertion, which translates to: “Compared with the maximum storage, I hope to start with 256GB instead of 128GB. After all, the price has risen.”
This would mean the storage levels for the Pro iPhones would be 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB. There’s no reference to what will happen with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
How Convincing Are These Rumors?
The Weibo account is conflating the storage prediction with a separate rumor of a price increase. While it’s nice to justify something negative (a higher price) with a benefit, there’s no guarantee that it’s the case. And if the Pro range starts at 256GB but the regulars remain at 128GB, 256GB and 512GB, it will mean yet another level of differentiation between iPhone 15 and 15 Pro.
For me, what makes the 2TB less likely is that Apple wants some outstanding sets of financials in the coming months, and a top-end model with the eye-watering price that 2TB could command may not be the impression Apple wants to leave its customers with right now. The 1TB iPhone 14 Pro Max currently costs $1,599—would Apple charge even more for 2TB capacity?
That said, the move to 256GB entry-level storage for the iPhone (and certainly the iPhone Pro handsets) is long overdue.
With thinner bezels around the display, camera upgrades, better repairability and new display technology, there are already significant improvements predicted for this year. And that’s before we get to Game Mode, new eye-catching colors for the iPhone 15 Pro and others for the iPhone 15, there could be a lot of changes to take on board on or around September 12.
August 10 update. There’s been another leak about the iPhone 15 series memory, this time RAM rather than storage. According to Unknownz21, a prolific leaker, there are now more details about the processor that will power the next iPhone Pro models, that is iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max (assuming it’s not retitled to iPhone 15 Ultra as some have suggested).
Hidden among the specs for the new chip, called the A17, is the detail that the new phones will have 6GB of RAM on board. This is the same as on the A16 Bionic that is in the iPhone 14 Pro and is expected to land in the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. There had been rumors that Apple would move up to 8GB of RAM for the next models and the leaker says that they have only seen 6GB so far and that 8GB is “unlikely” but may not be impossible. They also don’t rule out the possibility that there’s “a newer revision I don’t know about.” I might add that the response to this leak on X is one of great and widespread disappointment that 8GB RAM doesn’t look like being included.
However, Apple will have calculated exactly how much RAM is needed and will install that, I’d suggest. The Pro models are the most expensive iPhones Apple makes and the last thing it wants is complaints of slow performance.
On the other hand, this chip is rumored to be built on a 3nm fabrication process, which in itself promises strong efficiency gains and performance capabilities. Or increases in battery life, which are always welcome.
Other details in the tweet refer to the cores, with 6 CPU and 6 GPU, compared to the A16 Bionic with 6CPU and 5GPU cores. The maximum clock speed is also quoted and at 3.70GHz is higher than the 3.46GHz found in the iPhone 14 Pro. The leaker also confirms that the 3nm process is being used and will be manufactured by TSMC.
August 11 update. The plot thickens. The leaker who on August 9 said that the iPhone 15 Pro will have 6GB of RAM, not 8GB as some had predicted and many had been rooting for, now says things are a little more complicated.
Now, Unknownz21 has tweeted that configurations for the A17 Bionic chip have been tested both with 6GB and 8GB RAM “at one point”. And the prospect of 8GB RAM, dismissed as unlikely just hours ago, may not be written off after all. The tweet says,” It appears that both 8GB and 6GB RAM configurations for A17 were in testing at one point, currently unclear why or which of these was chosen as final—could be dependent on storage.”
This is interesting and could even dovetail with the suggestion that the next iPhone will come in a 2TB storage variant. The leaker was asked if this scenario is similar to what happened with the iPad Pro, that is, that the models with the bigger storage levels of 1TB and 2TB were fitted with higher levels of RAM (16GB) while those with lower storage capacities had 8GB RAM. The reply was, “I think this might be a possible explanation, yeah.”
In which case, it seems possible that exactly the same principle might apply, that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models with 1TB and 2TB of storage on board could benefit from the higher level of RAM.
Asked if it could be that the 15 Pro has 6GB and 15 Pro Max has 8GB, the answer was, “No, I don’t think it’s that—8GB was tested on 15 Pro as well.”
And finally, in their latest comment, things look a lot more hopeful for those wanting the higher level of RAM. When asked, “So 8GB RAM is possible this year?”, the reply came, “Yes.”
Unknownz21 is not actually changing their view of what’s going to happen, but suddenly it seems what was characterized as unlikely but not impossible has now taken on a greater likelihood. Not long until we know for certain, but this could be very good news indeed.
