How Much Storage Space Do You Really Need on Your Smartphone?

In picking out a smartphone, most people tend to prioritize storage capacity to ensure sufficient space that will suit their needs. Of course, this also means that users have varying preferences when it comes to storage capacity, with some users requiring large storage and others preferring to stick with the lowest possible one. 

Since storage space preferences vary between users, determining the amount of actual storage one would need will help prevent any insufficient storage issues down the road. Furthermore, identifying your ideal storage capacity will ensure you avoid spending extra on large excessive storage that won’t be used. 

Through this article, we provide storage details and insight that will help you find your actual required storage space in a phone.

Standard Storage Options

Smartphone storage capacities have increased drastically over the years, with a most modern budget and mid-range smartphones having larger storage than high-grade smartphones in 2012. Given the tremendous amount of pictures, videos, mobile apps, and games most users tend to have on their phones, it is no wonder why storage capacity has grown since then. 

32GB storage has become the standard among most low-tier and mid-range smartphones, with storage below 32GB becoming increasingly difficult to come by. Since 32GB is mostly considered the bare minimum, the standard storage capacity found in most modern phones is 64GB.

Above 64GB, there are larger storage options including 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and even massive storage of 1TB. 

64GB and 128GB Storage Capacity

Like every other smartphone, the specified storage capacity is not the exact amount of usable space. Since phones come with pre-installed software and an operating system that takes up some space, the usable space is less than the specified space. A smartphone may have 64GB of storage, but only have 48GB of available storage since bloatware and the operating system use up space. Also, it would be ideal to leave some space since a phone with fully loaded storage may lead to slow system performance and screen freezing. Some midrange phones like the Honor x8 256GB internal storage will never let this happen and won’t break the bank.

Factors in Determining the Ideal Storage Space

Smartphone usage varies from person to person given their habits, which is why determining the ideal storage capacity for a person depends greatly on several factors.

Media Consumption

Everyone has their own share of media, which will generally take up much of the space if the media files are stored locally. Additionally, storage space will load up fairly if you have many video captures or photos and utilize the phone as the main storage. 

For heavy media consumption, videos, and photos, a phone with at least 128GB would be suitable. If 128GB is not enough, then selecting something higher would be a safe choice. 

For users with moderate media usage that prefer streaming media over downloading them, then a 64GB storage should be sufficient. 128GB is also an option and provides additional space to work with for more heavy usage. 

Gaming

Gaming is another important factor to keep in mind when determining your ideal smartphone storage. Most smartphone users tend to have some form of the game on their phones, with some users playing casually on an occasional basis and others regularly playing demanding titles. 

For users playing regularly, 128GB storage would be ideal since heavy games are likely to take up quite a bit of space. Casual gamers with light games would be most comfortable with 64GB storage but can decide to go with 128GB for a safer option.

Cloud Storage

Files can be stored online in cloud storage, which can greatly save much storage space. For users that utilize cloud storage to store most of their files, then a 64GB storage capacity would be just fine. 

Conclusion

Regardless of the factors mentioned above, a storage space of 64GB is considered sufficient for an average user. 64GB is generally comfortable enough for casual gaming, some photos, videos, and light to moderate media consumption. Otherwise, a higher storage size like 128GB would be ideal for more heavy usage and more media files. In essence, 64GB would be enough for most users, with 128GB being a generally much safer option.