Word on the street suggests Apple is planning on releasing a 1TB iPhone storage option for the iPhone 13 in 2021. But how much would this update cost?
The short answer is A LOT. Apple already makes iPads with 1TB of storage and they’re very expensive – like $1300. With iPhone, you’ll probably have to pay even more, if recent iPhone 13 leaks are to be believed.
iPhones are more complex than iPads. They do more things, have more components.
And for this reason, Apple will almost certainly charge more for 1TB on iPhone than it does for 1TB on iPad.
The 1TB storage option for iPhone will also, again, almost certainly, be reserved for Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro models – perhaps only the iPhone 13 Pro Max which will be 2021’s true flagship model.
Please note, none of this is official just yet – it comes via a new leak from John Prosser, a dude with a middling-to-good batting average when it comes to predicting Apple moves.
But for now, let’s assume this is happening. What happens when it launches? How will it be marketed? And, most importantly, how will a 1TB iPhone succeed when other 1TB phones have failed so miserably?
1TB Storage For “Pro Users” Only
Most people, nay 99.9% of people, do not want or need 1TB of storage on their phones. This is why both ASUS and Samsung decided against doing 1TB phones again after weak demand for the 1TB ASUS ROG Phone 2 and Galaxy S10 Plus.
Demand simply wasn’t there. Most users are fine with 128GB, 256GB at a push. Even with 512GB, I hardly no anyone that has a phone with this amount of storage. And I know a lot of people that love their phones.
But Apple’s iPhone is different. It has different demands aimed at it than phones that run Android. Apple has been one of the only brands in the space to sustain growth while increasing the cost of its handsets.
It is also the company behind a $699 set of wheels for a PC, an iMac that you can spec up to $50K, and a $6980 monitor.
On the flip side, Samsung has not done quite so well with its pricey flagships in recent years, posting lower handset sales for its flagship phones every year since the Galaxy S9. This is partly down to stiffer competition from cheaper options in the space, but also because of Samsung’s pricing. Like Apple, it charges A LOT for its flagship phones.
So, the big question here is this: can Apple create demand for a 1TB iPhone that would likely cost anywhere from $1300 to $1500 to buy? As always, I have no idea. But this is Apple we’re talking about here. Apple knows how to charge way over the odds and still make sales.
Just look at its OG AirPods. They were uncomfortable, the sound-quality was only-just-average, and they cost a fortune. And yet, it managed to sell a metric-ton of these things. And it did so in a very competitive space too.
iPhone 13 Pro Max With 8K Video Recording?
I think the 1TB storage will have something to do with the camera on the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Perhaps Apple is bringing 8K video recording to the phone? If that were the case then, yes, you’d need 1TB of storage.
But the recording would have to be so good that the iPhone 13 Pro Max could replace a more traditional camera set up. Is Apple prepping a camera setup on the iPhone 13 Pro range to rival DLSR cameras? This is literally the only angle I can think of for the inclusion of 1TB of storage.
But that would require a Herculean update on Apple’s part to bring the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s video recording abilities up to task. I mean, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is decent for video, very good, in fact, but to replace an actual Canon or Nikon camera in a professional setting? That’d take A LOT of updates and tweaks.
And given Apple’s pace of change, I just don’t see this happening – not for another couple of years anyway. Still, there are plenty of video-creators that happily use an iPhone to create their content. In fact, I’d be willing to bet more YouTubers use iPhones to record their content than traditional DSLRs and video cameras.
If Apple does release a 1TB iPhone in 2021, it will have done its research. And I’d be willing to bet my house that its 1TB iPhone will be exclusively marketed towards video-content creators, with a focus on 8K video resolution. It is the only scenario that makes any sense.
Check out all the latest iPhone 13 leaks ahead of the handsets’ launch later this year.
