Apple will unveil the iPhone 13 series on Tuesday during a virtual keynote event that might bring additional hardware, like the Apple Watch Series 7 and AirPods 3. The new iPhones are always the stars of the show that Apple puts up every mid-September. The same goes for the iPhone 13 models. According to the usual iPhone launch schedule, the new handsets will go on sale later this week, with preorders expected for Friday. But just as rumors say that the iPhone 13 series will have a higher entry price than last year, we have a last-minute report from a trusted leaker giving fans the storage news they’ve been waiting for. The iPhone 13 will feature 128GB of flash storage at the lowest tiers, with the 64GB option going away for good.
Android flagships have long ditched the 64GB storage tier. As always, Apple is late to adopt the change. Flash storage upgrade has always been a lucrative deal for Apple. Customers who need more flash memory would generally be willing to pay higher prices for more built-in storage.
The iPhone 13 won’t be the first iPhone model to ditch the 64GB tier. It started last year with the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The Pro devices started at 128GB of storage. But Apple kept the Pro entry price unchanged. This meant the flash storage bump was essentially a free upgrade over the 2019’s iPhone 11 Pro versions.
iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 storage tiers leaked
Well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has produced over the years various accurate reports about unreleased Apple products. He penned a new note that MacRumors saw over the weekend. According to the insider, the iPhone 13 will start at 128GB of flash storage for the iPhone 13 mini and regular iPhone 13.
Buyers looking for even more storage for the cheaper iPhone 13 versions can purchase 256GB and 512GB versions.
The Pro models will get their own memory upgrades, Kuo said. The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will also start at 128GB. But they’ll go up to 1TB of storage. Like the iPhone 12 series, they’ll come in 256GB and 512GB options.
Previous rumors claimed the iPhone 13 series will be the first to include 1TB of memory, although some people disputed them. Adding 1TB of storage to the iPhone series isn’t necessarily a surprise. Apple has been selling 1TB iOS devices for a while now, the iPad Pro versions that top out at 1TB.
Kuo did not reveal any pricing details for the iPhone 13 series. Should the iPhone 12 pricing tiers stay in place for one more year, the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 models will basically get free flash storage upgrades. As for the Pro versions, they’ll have the exact same options as last year. Naturally, the 1TB storage versions will cost more.
But rumors do say that the increased cost of silicon manufacturing will lead to iPhone 13 price bumps. Increasing built-in memory would be a way to mitigate those costs if Apple plans on passing them to iPhone 13 buyers.
Apple’s iPhone 13 streams online on Tuesday at 1:00 PM EST, at which point we’ll learn everything about storage options and prices.
