It was frustrating that Apple kept the 16GB storage level around for last year's redesigned iPhone 6 and 6 Plus - but this year?
What are they thinking in Cupertino?
There's almost no way around it: 16GB of storage on a mobile device will not work in 2015. You may be one of those who simply uses your iPhone to keep tabs on your email and stay on top of news via Twitter and perhaps CNN, and you're still likely to run into storage capacity issues with the new iPhone 6s or 6s Plus that Apple unveiled on Wednesday in San Francisco.
Put simply: avoid the entry-level 16GB versions of the new phones. Do yourself the favor of paying no mind to the lousy 16GB edition; skip right over it and choose between the remaining 64 or 128GB models. Within just a few months, you'll be thanking yourself.
The disappointing part is the price. You're paying $200 (6s) or $300 (6s Plus) minimum for your new phone (which you're sure to have for two years on a fresh two-year contract with your carrier) for a laughable amount of storage space. Imagine if that same $200 or $300 put a 32 or even 64GB iPhone 6s or 6s Plus in your hands. It's much more logical; unfortunately, its time hasn't come yet.
But you can bet it will. We expected it to come last year and we were sure we'd see it this year, but the doing away with 16GB iPhones remains on the horizon.
The A9 chip inside the pair of new iPhones allows developers to bring games to the App Store that are much more intense graphics-wise and CPU-wise. Now, this is great if you're one who enjoys games that run smoothly and look great on the 4.7 and 5.5-inch displays of the latest iPhones - but it comes at a cost. The top titles of games in the App Store often exceed 1 or even 2GB (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is 1.9GB for example), and this will almost immediately eat up what storage remains on your phone beyond the iOS 9 software and default applications.
But what else. Want to edit quick videos on your phone after shooting them with the 4K-capable rear iSight camera? iMovie will take up 736MB - on top of the larger files that 4K video will already create. Microsoft Word? Over half a gig. Throw in your essential songs, videos and additional cache from iMessage and such, and 16GB quickly begins to sound like the joke that it is.
With the rear camera on the 6s and 6s Plus being bumped up to 12 megapixel shooters to be put at least a bit more on par with the flagship Androids on the market, you're probably going to want to use your iPhone as a camera. Unfortunately, even small amounts of 4K video will see your remaining storage space on your beloved new iPhone disappear.
This writer cannot recommend more that you dish out the $299 for the 64GB iPhone 6s or $399 for the 64GB iPhone 6s Plus and avoid the 16GB editions at all costs. While the entry-level prices are much more attractive, even those on the opposite of the spectrum from "power users" will be frustrated with what little storage remains on their phone just weeks after purchase.
16GB just won't cut it. And, for the customer, it's frustrating that Apple kept it around.
Aaron Durant is the editor of the VAVEL USA Racing section. Follow him on Twitter at @DoubleA291.
