A long-running annoyance with Apple products has been a certain stinginess with the specs of its entry-level products. This is compounded by a stubborn refusal to increase minimum storage long after it’s clearly no longer fit for purpose.
The company persisted with 16GB iPhones right up until 2016 with the release of the 32GB iPhone 7, before introducing 64GB as a minimum the following year with the iPhone 8. Eight years on, that era has thankfully also come to an end for iPhones and iPads.
It all happened in the space of a few weeks. First, the 128GB iPhone 16e replaced the 64GB iPhone SE 2022 as Apple’s entry-level iPhone. Then, just yesterday, the standard iPad was refreshed with an A16 chip and a minimum of 128GB storage.
It’s been a long time coming, and will come as a relief to anyone who has ever spent time juggling apps to free up space. As the owner of a 64GB iPad mini 5, used for covering events as my note-taking companion, I know this pain all too well. Frankly, even my 128GB iPhone 14 Pro is feeling the strain a little, and I’m likely to look for a 512GB model when upgrade time rolls around.
As the owner of a 64GB iPad mini 5, used for covering events as my note-taking companion, I know this pain all too well.
Interestingly, this is the second minimum-spec upgrade Apple has rolled out in recent months.
Since October, all of the company’s new Macs have had at least 16GB RAM, which is another change that fans have been crying out for.
I suspect that the root cause of both upgrades might be related.
All thanks to Apple Intelligence?
It would be naïve to think Apple was doing this out of a new-found commitment to offering more value.
While it’s possible that the company has accepted that we live in a world where laptops need at least 16GB RAM and all devices need at least 128GB of storage space, I suspect it may be down to the introduction of Apple Intelligence.
We know that Apple upped the RAM in its iPhone 16 handsets to 8GB to cope with the demands of the company’s new AI, so it seems likely that Macs got their 16GB upgrade for the same reason.
Equally, we know that Apple Intelligence is a bit of a space hog, and it’s getting more greedy with each iteration. What started off claiming 4GB of precious storage now eats up 7GB.
If Apple’s new AI-compatible devices started with 64GB of storage, that would be 11% gone on Apple Intelligence alone. This would make users less inclined to use it, sensibly preferring to claim the storage back instead.
Like my colleague Tom Pritchard, I’m definitely a consumer AI skeptic, not only finding results underwhelming but fretting about the gradual numbing of human creativity and chatbots’ not-especially hidden environmental costs.
Still, if Apple Intelligence has accelerated the end of under-specced Macs, iPads and iPhones, then for once I’m pleased it exists.
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