Apple May Offer 256GB as Standard Storage for iPhone 16 Pro Series, Starting Prices May Remain Unchanged

Apple May Offer 256GB as Standard Storage for iPhone 16 Pro Series, Starting Prices May Remain UnchangedAccording to a recent report by TrendForce, Apple is expected to offer at least 256GB of storage for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. This means that Apple will be dropping the 128GB entry option for Pro models for the first time

Apple May Offer 256GB as Standard Storage for iPhone 16 Pro Series, Starting Prices May Remain Unchanged

According to a recent report by TrendForce, Apple is expected to offer at least 256GB of storage for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. This means that Apple will be dropping the 128GB entry option for Pro models for the first time.

Currently, the 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro starts at $999 with a minimum of 128GB of storage, while the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1199 with a minimum of 256GB. Before the iPhone 15 series launch, there were rumors suggesting the iPhone 15 Pro Max would start at $1199 instead of the iPhone 14 Pro Max's $1099 starting price. This was indeed true, but only because Apple dropped the lower-priced 128GB storage option. The iPhone 15 Pro Max now starts at 256GB, costing $1199, which is the same price Apple charged for the 256GB iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Looking ahead to the upcoming iPhone 16 series, TrendForce believes Apple will implement the same strategy with the iPhone 16 Pro models. TrendForce's prediction is based on the assumption that the iPhone 16 Pro will feature a costly periscope telephoto lens, a feature exclusive to last year's iPhone 15 Pro Max. In other words, increasing the minimum capacity to 256GB allows Apple to pass the cost onto consumers while mitigating the perception of a price increase. Even with prices remaining the same, consumer habitssuch as capturing and storing large amounts of high-resolution photos and videos, downloading music, and playing large gameswill continue to drive demand for higher average storage capacities.

In 2018, Apple's iPhone X came with 64GB, an entry-level storage capacity that persisted across high-end devices until the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020 when Apple made 128GB the new starting point. The following year, all iPhone 13 models offered at least 128GB of storage. If Apple makes 256GB the new minimum standard for its high-end devices this year, we may very well see all models adopting this standard by 2025.

This year's iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are rumored to feature larger displays, increasing to 6.27 inches and 6.86 inches, respectively. In comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screens, respectively. The new display sizes will be the largest ever for iPhones and will also increase the physical space for internal components and parts.

Apple will unveil the new iPhone 16 series at its launch event next Monday, September 9th, under the slogan It's Glowtime, which is believed to refer to the new Siri interface powered by Apple Intelligence.