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Here’s when Apple might finally release an iPhone with 2TB of storage

Published Jul 25th, 2024 8:07AM EDT
iPhone storage could increase to 2TB
Image: José Adorno for BGR

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One of customers’ top concerns is the amount of data an iPhone can hold. While iPhone storage has remained the same for the past few years, Apple has slowly increased the base model storage. By 2020, Apple still offered iPhone models with 64GB. Currently, Cupertino has expanded it to 128GB, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max is available starting with 256GB of storage.

However, the maximum amount of storage on an iPhone has remained the same: up to 1TB. The main reason Apple hasn’t increased storage is due to high costs. For example, a MacBook Pro with 2TB storage costs an extra $400.

Still, Apple is paving the way for a 2TB iPhone. For now, the company offers higher storage for its Macs and iPad Pro, which could indicate that Cupertino wants to keep expanding storage for more products in the future.

Besides that, a TrendForce report says Apple wants to start applying quad-level cell (QLC) storage by 2026. Unlike the current triple-level cell (TLC) offered in current iPhones, this other technology is less expensive. This could help Cupertino offer iPhone models with higher storage.

iOS 18 Home Screen iPhone customizationImage source: José Adorno for BGR

Unfortunately, QLC has slower speeds than TLC. Although this might sound like a downgrade, you shouldn’t worry that much. The performance difference is little. The QLC flash storage offers write speeds of 550MB/s, while the TLC option can hit between 450MB/s and 500MB/s.

Previous rumors suggested Apple could be planning to release a 2TB iPhone with the upcoming iPhone 16. In addition, the 1TB option could get cheaper as Apple would also adopt QLC flash storage for these higher options.

That said, an increased iPhone storage shouldn’t take that long, as these reports indicate that Apple is already working on a transition, which could happen as early as this year and as far as 2026.

Would you like 2 TB of iPhone storage, or do you think paying extra for an iCloud subscription is enough? Below are the latest details on the iPhone 16.

José Adorno Tech News Reporter

José is a Tech News Reporter at BGR. He has previously covered Apple and iPhone news for 9to5Mac, and was a producer and web editor for Latin America broadcaster TV Globo. He is based out of Brazil.

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