Apple won't skimp on storage for the iPhone 8
Image source: Handy Abovergleich
By Chris Mills @chrisfmills
February 21st, 2017 at 5:28 PM
For the last ten years, Apple has had an odd habit of nickel-and-diming customers over the cost of internal storage. Although the flash storage chip inside the iPhone normally costs Apple $20, it's stuck with a base level of 16GB of storage for the longest time, only recently springing for a 32GB base option with the iPhone 7.
Once you've loaded up the OS, a couple slo-mo videos and a few Spotify playlists, it still isn't enough for most users. Sure, you can buy iCloud storage for a couple bucks a month, but the more logical solution for Apple would be to have a base option fo 64GB, much like most flagship Android phones.
According to a supply-chain report from TrendForce, that's exactly what will happen with the iPhone 8. Per the report, the new flagship iPhone 8 will ship with 64GB or 256GB of internal storage, which is good news, considering the cheapest version of the iPhone 8 could cost more than $1,000.
It's not all rainbows and unicorns in iPhone rumor land, though. The same report suggests the the still-new-but-cheaper iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will both retain the 32GB entry-level option, although the top end will still be 256GB.
It's a clever spec and pricing strategy for Apple. Let's say the entry-level iPhone 8, with 64GB of memory and 3GB of RAM costs $1,000, while the 32GB/2GB iPhone 7s runs $699. To get sufficient storage, you'd have to upgrade to the model with 128GB of memory, which could well cost around $850. Once people are already spending that much, there's a good chance that they'll spend a little extra and get the iPhone 8. But for people who are already looking for spare pennies to afford the entry-level iPhone 7s, the lower pricepoint will remain.
Apart from more storage, the iPhone 8 is rumored to have a dual-camera system much like the one found on the iPhone 7 Plus, an all-glass front display with minimal bezel, and quite possibly no physical buttons.
Tags: Apple, iPhone 7, iPhone 8, Rumor, Storage
Chris Mills has loved tinkering with technology ever since he worked out how to defeat the parental controls on his parents' internet. He's blogged his way through Apple events and SpaceX launches ever since, and still keeps a bizarre fondness for the Palm Pre.
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