How much storage are you getting from your smartphone?

We all know that smartphones come in different storage sizes. Unfortunately, we don’t get the whole nine yards because of the system and occasional bloatware. It’s not the same across the board though so we compiled actual internal storage sizes from top smartphones we have in our arsenal and listed them here for a quick comparison.

Majority of the smartphones we have on this list runs one Android (4.1.1 to 4.3) but we also included the iPhone 5S, a couple of Lumia handsets and a BlackBerry Z10. Since we have different storage variants across our devices, we’re going to focus on the “Reserved storage” which is actually the amount of storage the system eats out of the box including the manufacturer’s UI skin, pre-installed apps, and “bloatware”.

Motorola G (Android 4.3)
Total storage – 8GB
Usable storage – 5.52GB (69%)
Reserve storage – 2.48GB

Google Nexus 5 (Android 4.4.2)
Total storage – 16GB
Usable storage – 12.55GB (78.43%)
Reserve storage – 3.45GB

Sony Xperia Z1 (Android 4.3)
Total storage – 16GB
Usable storage – 11.79GB (73.68%)
Reserve storage – 4.21GB

HTC One (Android 4.3)
Total storage – 32GB
Usable storage – 25.49GB (79.65%)
Reserve storage – 6.51GB

LG G2 (Android 4.2.2)
Total storage – 32GB
Usable storage – 24.8GB (77.5%)
Reserve storage – 7.2GB

ASUS PadFone 2 (Android 4.1.1)
Total storage – 32GB
Usable storage – 23.39GB (73.09%)
Reserve storage – 8.61GB

Samsung Galaxy S4 i9500 (Android 4.2.2)
Total storage – 32GB
Usable storage – 23.23GB (72.59%)
Reserve storage – 8.77GB

iPhone 5S (iOS 7.0.4)
Total storage – 16GB
Usable storage – 12.9GB (80.62%)
Reserve storage – 3.1GB

Nokia Lumia 1020 (Windows Phone 8.0)
Total storage – 32GB
Usable storage – 29.12GB (91%)
Reserve storage – 2.88GB

Nokia Lumia 1520 (Windows Phone 8.0)
Total storage – 32GB
Usable storage – 29GB (90.62%)
Reserve storage – 3GB

BlackBerry Z10 (OS 10.2)
Total storage – 16GB
Usable storage – 10.4GB (65%)
Reserve storage – 5.6GB

(For simplicity, we are using indicative total storage as listed by the manufacturers.)

Based on the data above, the Samsung Galaxy S4 takes up the largest reserve storage at 8.77GB. You can blame that to the number of pre-loaded features that Samsung crammed inside. The Motorola G has the smallest at an almost barebone 2.48GB. See comparison table below:

reserve_storage_yugatech_2

But since these smartphones come in different storage variants, which of these will actually give you the most usable storage in relation to the total memory on board? Take a look at the table below:

usable_storage_yugatech_1

In our data, the Nokia Lumia 1020 gives you the most by providing 91% of its 32GB. Followed by Nokia Lumia 1520 at 90.62% of its 32GB. The bottom performer is the BlackBerry Z10 with 65% usable storage of its 16GB – outperformed by the 8GB Moto G and the bloated 16GB Galaxy S4.

How about you guys? How much storage are you getting from your smartphone? Feel free to add your own data by sharing them in the comments field below.

Author’s note: This post was inspired by Which? Tech Daily’s “Phone storage compared” article.

Diangson Louie

This article was written by Louie Diangson, Managing Editor of YugaTech. You can follow him at @John_Louie.

https://www.yugatech.com

18 Comments

Rem says:

11 years ago

Xperia ZR

Total Storage – 8GB
Usable Storage – 4.59GB
Reserve Storage – 3.41GB

Hopefully usable storage will increase when 4.4 update arrives :)
- Reply
JR Madrasto says:

11 years ago

Hope there would be a follow on these that includes Philippine brands like Cherry Mobile, etc.
- Reply
Observer says:

11 years ago

Di ganon ka accurate ang article na ‘to.
So kung usable storage mo sa phone mo out of the box ay 11GB sa 16GB storage automatic na 5GB ang reserve storage ha? Definitely not.

Pag bumili ka ba ng microSD na 64GB, 64GB ba siya naka show? Hindi diba?

Formatted capacity is always less. Applicable sa lahat ng storage, mapa HDD pa yan, SSD, USB flash drive etc. So mali na iadd ng ganon ganon na lang ang usable storage at mag assume ng reserved storage. Just clarifying.
- Reply

MLH says:

11 years ago

ikaw ang hindi ganon ka accurate basa basa rin pag may time.
““Reserved storage” which is actually the amount of storage the system eats out of the box including the manufacturer’s UI skin, pre-installed apps, and “bloatware”.”
Ang pinag uusapan internal phone memory. Yun mga external wala naman kasamang apps or bloatware.
Observer ka nga ba?
Sam says:

11 years ago

@ MLH, Observer is correct, you don’t get the entire 16GB for a 16GB storage. I think the author just used the rounded up storage values to make it simple since yun rin naman ginagamit ng manufacturers.
kamote says:

11 years ago

Hindi kasi yun ang point ng article. Yung mga bloatware tska yung reserved storage ang pinag uusapan. Hindi yung iba ang notation na ginagamit ng computers na 32GB eh 32×1024 = 32768MB sa ginagamit ng industry na 32*1000 = 32000MB which is only around 31.25GB. Ang basic mo observer. Basa basa din pag may time.
wew says:

11 years ago

hindi mahalaga kung eksaktong eksakto,ok na ung approximate value.so kung sobra o kulang ng 100 mb ung info big deal na ba un?

mike pado says:

11 years ago

Actually the Nexus 5 has 92% if you compare to the same sized storage (32gb).
- Reply

Abe Olandres says:

11 years ago

We only used the handsets that we have on hand. Do you have a 32GB version you can share data with us?
Melvin Nacario says:

11 years ago

according to xda, a 32 GB Nexus 5 actually has a total storage of 29.8 GB and a usable storage of 26.76 (90%). way higher than iphone 5s. :)

EarlZ says:

11 years ago

Also consider that probably none of these phones advertise as “16Gb / 32GB ” Usable space, it just says it comes with those said capacities.
I find it odd though why such a large space is system reserved for nothing.
- Reply
Justin says:

11 years ago

I’m able to get 12.92GB out of my 16GB Nexus 4 running CyanogenMod Kitkat 4.4.2. Iba pa rin talaga ang custom ROMs.
- Reply
bluet0ps says:

11 years ago

One important thing to consider in this article is the issue on expandable storage. Where iphone and all the other phones with no provision for expansion slot will surely be least desirable devices. The figures in your graph makes absolutely no sense when you factor in the 64gb sdxc that you can add up on top of the internal memory.

These kinds of articles make iphone and nexus users feel good about their devices just coz they think their device is among the top of the list once again. Oh well….caged by apple, google, etc. Forcing them to buy the bigger capacity model at an ungodly premium as opposed to buying ultra cheap memory solutions. Hehe.
- Reply

readfirst says:

11 years ago

Nagbabasa ka ba? Out of the box ang sabi kaya internal storage lang ang pinaguusapan. Kung sinama ang sd cards, biased comparison na ang lalabas (common sense missing?) Very informative ito to compare reserved storage ng kitkat at non-kitkat OS sa future articles. Daming talagang tao na gumagamit ng smartphone pero di smart.
bluet0ps says:

11 years ago

Sayang kasi yung pagod sa paggawa ng article that makes leaves a very important factor, that is, the expandability. What’s the point in focusing what remains in your precious internal storage when you can expand your storage in a very inexpensive manner. Moreover, “bigger” o.s. doesn’t mean bad o.s. So, what if kitkat occupies more space than windows? Get the point?
wew says:

11 years ago

@bluetops WTF?!? bakit cnu b may sabe n pag mas mataas ang naooccupy n space ng OS pangit agad?tska ang punto dito eh INTERNAL STORAGE….pag sinama ung sd slot biased n ung article…tska d lahat ng apps pede itransfer sa sd card unless nakaroot ung phone…na hindi naman pedeng isaling factor kasi d naman lahat alam kung panu magroot tska d lahat gusto magroot ng phone…isipin mo for ex. 4 gb lng ung internal memory(nasa 1-2 gig lng ang matitira dito kung d ako nagkakamali) tas may sd card slot n compatible hanggang 64gb sd cards…tas ang kalaban nya e walang slot pero 16 gb(nasa 11 gb ang space)…kahit 1 TB p ung compatibility ng slot wala p rin yan kung puro apps ang ilalagay kasi ang magkacount lng dun e internal…unlike ung isa kahit 16 gb atleast may 11gb k nq kahit anu pede mo ilagay.kuha mo punto namin?
readfirst says:

11 years ago

I agree with wew, di lahat ng gumagamit ng gadgets ay tech savvy kaya importante ang mga ganitong detailed articles. Di sayang ang article dahil sa simula, pointed out nang internal storage lang ang pag-uusapan. Mukhang napakahina naman ng ulo mo kung di mo maiintindihan na pag sinama ang SD cards sa usapan ay understood na may pinapaboran ang author sa write-ups. Importante din ang article na ito para malaman ng mga tao kung paano ipapackage ng mga manufacturers ang latest android kitkat sa upcoming updates nila. Pag nagbabasa ka ng comparative, informative articles, wag mong dadalhin ang irrational logic ng pagiging apple fanboy o droid zombie mo, basahin mo ang article nang walang pinapanigan dahil hindi naman ginawa ang article na ito as marketing stunt.

ymer says:

11 years ago

For me this is accurate..was able to get 29GB out of 32GB from my Lumia1520 for photos,vids and music…btw, Lumia1520 is gorgeous! Love it! ????
- Reply