Source: new entry-level iPhone will have a starting point of 32GB storage instead of 16GB
Whether or not Apple's next overhaul of the iPhone meets your needs, you should still wait until September to commit to a new phone — Will Apple wow you in September?
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple has held the 16GB entry tier through two generations of mounting storage pressure: the iPhone 6S kept the same 16/64/128GB ladder as the iPhone 6 even as it added 4K video and higher-resolution photos, a tension visible in leaks of the device's internals a year earlier (16GB base confirmed alongside updated NFC).
A Wall Street Journal source now says the next entry-level model breaks that pattern with a 32GB starting point — the first move up the base tier in the reported lineage, and a step on the path toward the 64GB-base iPhone SE that would arrive four years later.
First-order effects
- Buyers of the cheapest new iPhone get double the base storage, removing the configuration most exposed to filling up under 4K video capture.
- Apple retires the 16GB SKU from its entry lineup, resetting what 'base model' means for the September launch.
Second-order effects
- The 16GB tier had functioned as an upsell nudge toward 64GB; doubling the floor compresses that ladder and shifts the upgrade decision to higher tiers rather than away from the base model.
- Rivals positioning against the entry iPhone lose the '16GB is unusable' attack line and must compete on their own base configurations.
Third-order effects
- If the ratchet holds — 16GB held too long, then 32GB, then a 64GB-base SE by 2020 — entry-tier storage becomes a feature Apple raises in steps rather than a permanent upsell lever.
- Media-heavy iOS features effectively set a minimum NAND allocation per generation, tying the entry price point to flash-market economics rather than tier marketing.
The trend: Entry-level iPhone base storage ratchets upward in steps as capture-hungry features make each old floor untenable, ending the 16GB era.