A new study shows that consumers want more storage capacity in their smartphones over the past few years. iPhone users, for example, tend to purchase models with higher storage capacities than their Android counterparts. This data comes as reports suggest the iPhone 13 could be available in a new 1TB configuration for the first time.
A report published today by Counterpoint Research says the smartphone industry in 2020 crossed the 100GB mark for average storage capacity. Apple is the second company with users demanding higher storage options, with an average of 141GB storage on their iPhone. Huawei leads the way with 150GB on average.
Between 2019 and 2020, Apple’s 128GB models had a yearly growth in shipments while the 64GB models saw a 1% decline over the same period. The 64GB iPhone 11, XR, and 11 Pro Max was thought to make up half of Apple’s shipments in the 2019-2020 period.
With their higher price point, iPhones have historically retained a much higher average NAND-flash density compared to their Android peers. However, this gap is quickly reducing due to Apple’s decision to limit the iPhone 12 storage to 512GB and rapidly rising storage capacities in Android smartphones as per our historical data and forecast of smartphone memory for the 2018-2024 period.
With Apple currently selling iPhone 12 Pro models with 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, this year’s iPhone 13 could push the base model to 128GB and ditch the 64GB entry-level version.
Counterpoint says 128GB is fast becoming the minimum standard for storage capacities in the mid- to high end of the market.
As for now, analysts at Wedbush say the iPhone 13 launching later this year is likely to arrive with a new high-end storage option of 1TB. You can read more about iPhone 13 rumors here.
