64GB, is it enough for iPhone users?

As you all know, iPhones come in multiple storage variants, and one of them is 64GB. It is the base model for most smartphones right now, and some users may find this capacity very limiting and opt for the 128GB instead. However, since iPhones are expensive, 64GB models have become a more attractive option. The question now is, is 64GB enough for iPhone users especially in 2020? In my case, I was able to make it work.

Author’s note: If you are a heavy user, this may not work for you, or it might after you read this.

As a content creator, I use my iPhone 11 Pro with 64GB to take photos and videos for my social media handles. If you’re wondering how I survived with limited storage, here are my tips.

My iPhone storage currently looks like this. I have all of my years of photos in there, plus I have 77 apps in total, including the ones from Apple.

So, why did I go with 64GB for the iPhone 11 Pro? The primary reason is the price, and second, I know that I don’t keep things that eat up my storage, so I only keep apps that I really use.

So when it comes to apps, I have the basic ones for social media, work, and camera apps that I use for work. Apps eat a lot of space in your phone’s storage, so to keep your storage with adequate space, keep only the essential apps you use. Delete the apps that you only use once in a while. Or if that service or app is available on your PC browser and you’re mostly using it there, then just keep it there—no need to have the app on the phone as well.

As for my contacts, I only have five people on the list since everyone is on Messenger and other chat apps anyway. While contacts don’t take up much space, every little bit helps.

I’ve played a lot of games before, but once I feel that I don’t want to play them anymore, I delete it right away. This step can free up your storage a lot since big games consume GBs of space.

Now for the photos, the primary camera in the default 4:3 aspect ratio took up about 3MB on average in our usage, while selfies with the front camera usually are around 2MB. For videos, on the other hand, capturing a 1-minute video in 4K at 30 FPS takes 350MB of storage, and capturing a 1-minute video in HD at 60 FPS takes 175MB of storage on iPhone. So if you’re heavy on photos and videos, this will eat up your 64GB in no time. But here’s what I do.

Once I upload the content on social media, I delete it right away in my gallery. Make sure to clear it from the “Recently Deleted” section. You can also use the cloud for backups. Google Drive is a good suggestion as it offers free, hi-res uploads. If you don’t want to use the cloud, you can do what I do — transfer it to my laptop’s hard drive or external hard drive.

For music, I use Spotify. Downloading songs from Spotify will save you precious data, but it will also take up space. So, what I do is I keep just one playlist of my favorite songs, then I have a habit of updating that playlist every month, removing the songs I’m no longer interested in listening to. That way, you won’t end up with hundreds of songs in your playlist that you will just skip.

As for streaming videos like Netflix, I opt to stream the content instead of downloading it. This is the opposite of how I deal with Spotify, but I make sure I’m on WiFi to save data, or if it can’t be helped, I lower the quality to save space. And I just download a couple of shows or movies to keep me entertained while stuck in traffic or on a long flight.

But it’s that really enough?

Every memory capacity has a limit. Even if you have a 1TB model, it’s not about IF you’ll fill it up, but WHEN. I’ve tried out vlogging at 4K 30fps on my 64GB iPhone 11 Pro, and I filled it up quickly. I have to constantly transfer the files once my phone’s storage is full. But if you’re not doing those things, the iPhone’s 64GB storage would be great. You can still take lots of photos, install plenty of apps, store a few videos, and download songs.

So, what I’m saying is, it depends on what you use your iPhone. If you’re a creative that records tons of hi-res videos and photos, it is not recommended to go with 64GB. But if you’re a casual user, like me, who use the iPhone as a tool for simpler tasks like social media, then I can say that it is enough. And when the time comes that it has filled up, just try the suggestions I mentioned above.

So how about you? Could you live with the compromises of having a phone with 64GB storage? Let us know in the comments.

4 Comments

Merlinda Locsin says:

3 years ago

I don’t have any card for the processing payment can I have COD only..
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DJ says:

4 years ago

64 GB is enough.
I only keep apps that I use. I only keep games that I usually play.
I’m not a content creator so I don’t have a 4k videos. My phone can keep all photos and IG stories. I use Google Photos to backup all my photos and videos.
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Ephraim Salawa says:

4 years ago

I have a phone way back 2016 an android which had a 8gb storage minus the built in the total storage is 1.9gb only plus an 3.89gb sd card. I’ve been using it for 4 years and im maximizing and minimizing my use of it. Btw my phone is an LGK8 out dated phone. Now I’m using it for Zoom and other stuffs for school since I’m in college. 64gb storage is a lot for me if i were getting a phone like that. It has many things to offer for me.
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mansour says:

4 years ago

revise your story this is misleading.

“new iPhones since the iPhone X come only with 64GB of storage”

no it does not. the BASE variant comes with 64gigs does that mean it is the ONLY variant available, no.

there is a 128gb version available but offered at a higher cost. what you can tackle is cost per GB and if the price jump per storage size increase is worth the amount. now that is okay but to say that they come in only 64GB is misleading and inaccurate.

if apple were to pick up this article they could sue you for this.

current lineup and storage

iphone Xr 64/128gb
iphone SE 64/128/256gb
iphone 11 64/128/256gb
iphone 11 pro/promax 64/256/512gb
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