How much , or how many files , can aniPhone , iPadoriPodhold ? What is its real storage mental ability ? And why does my 128 GB iPhone report a capacity of 114 GB when I plug it into iTunes ? Am I getting ripped off ?
We would n’t call it a ripoff ( although two peoplesuing the companyevidently mean other than ) , since Apple lay “ actual formatted capacity less ” in the diminished photographic print . But it is a bit confusing . In fact , there are a few different reasons why iPhones , iPads and iPods account a different formatted repositing capacitance to the one that is advertised by Apple on its internet site , and we ’ll go through them in this article . We also detail the true storage capacity of each model of iPhone , iPad and iPhone – explain this in literal terms , so that you fuck how many moving-picture show , medicine tracks , photos , apps and so on your twist can hold .
Read next : iPad purchasing guide 2016|iPhone buying guide 2016|iPod buying scout 2016
Before we start , here ’s the cover capacitance we ’ve been seeing for each of the four current storehouse tiers for iOS devices . Bear in mind that these are near ( we ’ve seen some variation between models and versions of iOS ) , but they give an idea of the shortfall you should be wait from the advertised storage capacity .
You ’ll notice that I ’ve used the unit of measurement ‘ GiB ’ , or gibibyte , even though iTunes intelligibly uses the unit GB . I ’ll explicate why this is , and the difference of opinion between the two , in the next section .
Why is my iPhone/iPad/iPod’s true formatted storage capacity different to the advertised capacity: Gigabytes and gibibytes
The principle reason why iTunes is reporting a unlike capacity to the one you thought you were getting – and the one that Apple highlightson its website , since it reflect more favourably on the troupe – is the difference in the agency these things are measured . In some contexts it ’s valuate using the decimal system , and in others using binary , and it can make the same amount of storage seem dissimilar , when it ’s really the same .
Here ’s how Apple explains the difference :
“ reposition twist manufacturers measure capacity using the decimal system ( base 10 ) , so 1 GB ( GB ) is calculated as exactly 1,000,000,000 bytes . The capacity of the store medium in your Mac , iPad , iPod , iPhone and other Apple computer hardware is mensurate using this denary system .
“ When you view the store electrical capacity of your iPod , iPhone , iPad , or other electronic devices within its operating scheme , the capability is reported using the the binary arrangement ( base 2 ) of measurement . In binary , 1 GB is direct as 1,073,741,824 bytes . ”
Technically speaking we would take issue slightly from Apple ’s explanation , which does n’t explain that two different units are being used here . A gigabyte , shortened to GB , is adequate to 1,000,000,000 bytes as explained . But the binary version of a gigabyte is acknowledge as agibibyteand shorten to GiB ; this is equal to 1,073,741,824 bytes .
That might not sound like a immense departure , but this alone would leave in 128 GB of storage being account as 119.2GiB , 64 GB as 59.6GiB , 32 GB as 29.8GiB and 16 GB as 14.9GiB. Still , it ’s not quite enough to answer for for the discrepancies we visualize above .
Why is my iPhone/iPad/iPod’s true formatted storage capacity different to the advertised capacity: iOS, and preinstalled apps
A factor that chew over less favorably on Apple * , is the space taken up by the iOS operating system software package , and the preinstalled ( and formally undeletable ) apps that Apple pops on your twist in the mill : Mail , Safari , Phone , Messages and so on . These explanation for the remaining ‘ missing ’ storage .
In fact you could delete some of the preinstalled apps and thereby reclaim a sure amount of warehousing space , but you ’ll need to jailbreak your twist to do so , wo n’t gain a huge amount of storage and will miss out on a hardening of apps that are rarely the best of their character but are always the well integrated into iOS . And with a few exceptions ( Stocks , for instance ) , you ’ll end up installing a replacement app which will take up quad too .
Still , if you ’re keen enough to go ahead , read our article that explainshow to cancel any app from an iPad or iPhone .
- This also applies to fluid gimmick made by other manufacturers , who will also preinstall an oculus sinister and other pieces of software system without subtracting them from the range storage electrical capacity . Yet most other business firm let you edit at least some of the preinstalled apps , even if you ’re always go to need an OS .
The true formatted storage of each iPhone, iPad and iPod model: How many films, apps, photos and music tracks will fit on my iOS device?
Apple ’s various roving machine – its iPads , iPhones and iPod models – are available in a assortment of repositing capacities for a variety of prices . But it ’s hard to know which one is correct for you , and how much storage you will ask . It ’s all very well saying an iPad can hold up to 128 Great Britain , for example , but what does that mean in practice ? How many song , picture , app or movies can each iPad , iPhone or iPod hold ?
For those who are concerned in fine detai , we explain how we arrive at these figures later in the clause .
iPhone 6s Plus(128 GB model):approx . 114GiB , or 122.4 GB . 30,600 songs OR 81 film OR 229 TV shows OR 19,125 photos OR 4,080 apps OR a combination of theseiPhone 6s Plus ( 64 GB model):approx . 56.5GiB , or 60.7 GB . 15,175 Song dynasty OR 40 films OR 113 TV display OR 9,484 photos OR 2,023 apps OR a combining of theseiPhone 6s Plus ( 16 GB model):approx . 11.5GiB , or 12.3 GB . 3,075 songs OR 8 films OR 23 telecasting shows OR 1,921 photos OR 410 apps OR a combining of these
iPhone 6s(128 GB model):approx . 114GiB , or 122.4 GB . 30,600 song OR 81 flick OR 229 television shows OR 19,125 photos OR 4,080 apps OR a combining of theseiPhone 6s ( 64 GB model):approx . 56.5GiB , or 60.7 GB . 15,175 songs OR 40 films OR 113 TV show OR 9,484 photos OR 2,023 apps OR a combination of theseiPhone 6s ( 16 GB model):approx . 11.5GiB , or 12.3 GB . 3,075 song OR 8 films OR 23 TV show OR 1,921 photos OR 410 apps OR a combination of these
iPhone 6 Plus(64 GB model):approx . 56.5GiB , or 60.7 GB . 15,175 Sung OR 40 films OR 113 TV shows OR 9,484 photos OR 2,023 apps OR a combination of theseiPhone 6 Plus ( 16 GB model):approx . 11.5GiB , or 12.3 GB . 3,075 song OR 8 film OR 23 TV shows OR 1,921 photos OR 410 apps OR a combination of these
iPhone 6(64 GB model):approx . 56.5GiB , or 60.7 GB . 15,175 song OR 40 flick OR 113 television shows OR 9,484 photos OR 2,023 apps OR a combining of theseiPhone 6 ( 16 GB model):approx . 11.5GiB , or 12.3 GB . 3,075 Song dynasty OR 8 films OR 23 idiot box shows OR 1,921 photos OR 410 apps OR a compounding of these
iPhone 5s(32 GB model):approx . 27.5GiB , or 29.5 gigabyte . 7,375 songs OR 19 films OR 55 TV shows OR 4,609 photos OR 983 apps OR a combination of theseiPhone 5s ( 16 GB model):approx . 11.5GiB , or 12.3 GB . 3,075 songs OR 8 films OR 23 TV display OR 1,921 photos OR 410 apps OR a combining of these
iPad Pro(128 GB model):approx . 114GiB , or 122.4 GB . 30,600 songs OR 81 films OR 229 TV shows OR 19,125 photos OR 4,080 apps OR a combination of theseiPad Pro ( 32 GB model):approx . 27.5GiB , or 29.5 GB . 7,375 song OR 19 films OR 55 TV prove OR 4,609 photos OR 983 apps OR a combination of these
iPad Air 2(128 GB model):approx . 114GiB , or 122.4 GB . 30,600 songs OR 81 films OR 229 boob tube shows OR 19,125 pic OR 4,080 apps OR a compounding of theseiPad Air 2 ( 64 GB model):approx . 56.5GiB , or 60.7 GB . 15,175 songs OR 40 films OR 113 TV shows OR 9,484 pic OR 2,023 apps OR a combining of theseiPad Air 2 ( 16 GB model):approx . 11.5GiB , or 12.3 GB . 3,075 songs OR 8 films OR 23 television receiver shows OR 1,921 photos OR 410 apps OR a combination of these
iPad Air 1(32 GB model):approx . 27.5GiB , or 29.5 Gbit . 7,375 songs OR 19 films OR 55 TV shows OR 4,609 photograph OR 983 apps OR a combination of theseiPad Air 1 ( 16 GB model):approx . 11.5GiB , or 12.3 GB . 3,075 songs OR 8 films OR 23 TV shows OR 1,921 photos OR 410 apps OR a combination of these
iPad miniskirt 4(128 GB model):approx . 114GiB , or 122.4 GB . 30,600 songs OR 81 moving picture OR 229 TV shows OR 19,125 photos OR 4,080 apps OR a combining of theseiPad mini 4 ( 64 GB model):approx . 56.5GiB , or 60.7 GB . 15,175 birdcall OR 40 films OR 113 television set shows OR 9,484 photos OR 2,023 apps OR a combining of theseiPad mini 4 ( 16 GB model):approx . 11.5GiB , or 12.3 GB . 3,075 songs OR 8 films OR 23 TV shows OR 1,921 photos OR 410 apps OR a combination of these
iPad mini 2(32 GB model):approx . 27.5GiB , or 29.5 GB . 7,375 birdsong OR 19 films OR 55 TV shows OR 4,609 photo OR 983 apps OR a combination of theseiPad mini 2 ( 16 GB model):approx . 11.5GiB , or 12.3 GB . 3,075 songs OR 8 film OR 23 telly shows OR 1,921 photos OR 410 apps OR a combination of these
iPod touch ( 128 GB model):approx . 114GiB , or 122.4 GB . 30,600 Sung OR 81 films OR 229 video shows OR 19,125 photo OR 4,080 apps OR a combination of theseiPod touching ( 64 GB model):approx . 56.5GiB , or 60.7 GB . 15,175 songs OR 40 films OR 113 telecasting shows OR 9,484 photos OR 2,023 apps OR a combining of theseiPod touch ( 32 GB model):approx . 27.5GiB , or 29.5 GB . 7,375 songs OR 19 films OR 55 TV show OR 4,609 photos OR 983 apps OR a combining of theseiPod touch ( 16 GB model):approx . 11.5GiB , or 12.3 GB . 3,075 song OR 8 films OR 23 TV shows OR 1,921 photos OR 410 apps OR a combination of these
How many files can an iPhone, iPad or iPod hold?
Okay , how did we come up with these figure ? lease ’s take care at each file cabinet character , and how much storage space it take up ion average . We ’ll also take what can determine its size .
Music file sizes: How many songs can an iPhone, iPad or iPod hold?
This bet most importantly on the quality of file you use : high - quality song files take up more space ( but auditory sensation well , assuming the speakers you put them through are also good enough to do them Department of Justice ) , but also on the file format and whether you go for lossy or lossless sound . A unmarried strain encoded as an mp3 at a bitrate of 128kbps – a fairly respectable but not particularly high bitrate – takes up about 1 MB per minute , so let ’s assume an average of 4 MB per Sung . That ’s what Apple has used in the past to create estimates for the iPods .
But you may well obtain songs are drastically larger than that . If you buy songs from iTunes , for instance , the standard bitrate is 256kbps , which means such track are on average double as large . And longer tracks can catch you out too , if you ’re into dance medicine or Hellenic , for example .
Movie file sizes: How many films can an iPhone, iPad or iPod hold?
As with music , there are many data file formats that can be used for video , and this will cause file sizes to alter substantially . Again , we ’ll apply Apple ’s standard , which is H.264 1.5Mbps video at a resolution of 640×480 , with 128kbps audio recording . This interpret into a file size of 800 MB per hour . Slashfilmreckons the average length of a Hollywood photographic film is 110 minutes , which would be about 1.5 GB . A 40 - arcminute TV installment would be about 533 MB .
Read next : How to delete photos from your iPhone
Photo file sizes: How many photos can an iPhone, iPad or iPod hold?
This depend on the resolution of the image – which in the showcase of photos is a function of the number of megapixels on the camera that take the shot . Apple estimates an average of 6.4 MB per photo for its advertised capacities , but you may find they are little , especially if taken on older models of iPhone or iPad themselves – the iPad Air 1 ’s rear - facing camera , for representative , has a rating of 5 megapixels , and exposure direct with this are potential to take up a petty over 1 Mbit . Screenshots taken with iPad games might be more like 2 MB to 3 MB .
Again , though , we ’ll wedge with Apple ’s standards for rest of comparison with the iPod numbers .
App file sizes: How many apps and games can an iPhone, iPad or iPod hold?
iOS app ( and game ) sizes can diverge tremendously . My iPhone presently holds 39 apps taking up 2.2 GB , which work out at an average of 56 MB . My iPad Air has 133 apps taking up 53.35 GB , a far high average of 401 MB , but this is skew by the fact that I do most of my gaming on the iPad and games – particularlyhigh - end games , which I make out – take up lots of space . And by a duad of apps that are exceptionally tumid because of the many modest written document they contain .
You should bear in mind , you see , if you ’re look through an existing machine ’s ‘ About ’ menu to see what you ’re storing and how much space it ’s taking up , that many apps are rat as get hold of up the space allocated to documents they let you look at – a comic viewer app with the great unwashed of comic in it , for illustration , might look like a Brobdingnagian app , but would be far smaller with a sensibly sized library .
The iPhone therefore belike gives us a fairer estimate of average app size , and indeed the average across all substance abuser ( rather than focusing on a tech diarist with a trend to download mellow - end apps for testing ) is believably lower still . In October 2012ABI Research reportedthat the fair iOS app was 23 MB . The averages are likely to have increase further since then , so we will use a very rough estimate of 30 M per app . But gamers should expect their favourite apps to take up considerably more infinite .
Other file sizes: How many files and documents can an iPhone, iPad or iPod hold?
We wo n’t go through the mediocre size of every unmarried file or document that an iOS gadget can store , but here are some sample sizes for extremely approximate storage visualization :
Is it fair that an iPhone or iPad’s true storage capacity is less than its advertised capacity?
The method used when work out and publicizing machine capacities might seem unfair – indeed , it would be a more fair judgement for companies to advertise the available reposition – but it ’s the way things are for the time being . Most do acknowledge this discrepancy , of course , but usually in the small print . Apple ’s phrasing is “ actual formatted capacity less ” , and explains the office quite comprehensively withthis post . Amazon fairly openly says that only 1.25 GB of the Kindle ’s 2 GB of storage is usable for ‘ user content ’ .
Which ? ran a testand found that Apple ’s smartphones are actually among the most scotch in using up entrepot with initial installs , although you may find it hard to prune iOS than you would with other systems .
Note that a separate upshot arises when a heavy amount of depot is allocated to something called ‘ Other ’ when you plug into a machine to iTunes – perhaps as much as 20 GB or more ! This is not normal , and is an issue that lots of people have faced . tally for one of the suggested fixes online . Here ’s some discussion of what consitutes ‘ Other ’ , and here’sdiscussion on deal with tainted Other information .
