Smartphones · 29 September 2026 · 4-minute read
Phone storage: 128, 256 or 512 GB
Storage cannot be added later: iPhones and the Galaxy S series have no card slot. You can work out how much you need in two minutes.
What fills the storage
The system and built-in apps take about 15 to 20 GB. A WhatsApp history with photos and voice notes grows to 10 to 30 GB over a few years. Video takes the most: a minute of 4K at 60 frames a second is about 400 MB, so ten minutes of a wedding is 4 GB.
Which size for whom
128 GB: calls, messaging, banking apps and a few hundred photos a month. Enough for parents or a second phone. With this storage we have the iPhone 16 at ₼2,149.
256 GB: the right choice for most of us. Children’s videos, holiday photos and games have room for two or three years. The iPhone 17 and the Galaxy S25 start at this size.
512 GB and 1 TB: for people who film in 4K, run a blog or use the phone instead of a camera. Recording ProRes video on an iPhone 17 Pro fills even 1 TB quickly; the Galaxy S24 Ultra with 512 GB costs ₼2,299.
Does cloud storage make up the difference
iCloud and Google One move photos to the cloud, but they charge every month and need a good connection. Over four years the subscription usually adds up to more than the price gap between the 128 GB and 256 GB versions of the phone.
Storage also raises the price when you trade the old phone in: the offer for a 256 GB phone is always higher than for a 128 GB one.
Prices come from the catalogue and are valid today.
