Talking Storage: How Many Gigabytes Do I Need On My Phone?
If you’re storing large numbers of photos, videos or apps on your phone, your storage space can quickly be filled up. It’s helpful therefore to know how much space you might need, based on how you use your phone.
We take a look at how many gigabytes you might need on your phone for different uses, so you can prioritise your storage space on the things you store most.
If it’s time to find a new deal with significant storage capabilities, take a look at our great guide below.
Storage vs RAM
Storage refers to how much space there is on your handset to save files. The more storage your phone has, the more photos, videos, games and other files you can save on it.
RAM (Random Access Memory) refers to a device's short-term memory, and is used to undertake processing tasks. The more RAM your device has, the smoother and faster it'll be when carrying out tasks.
Phone storage and RAM both use gigabytes (GB), as their unit for measuring capacity, so understanding the difference between the two is useful when choosing a phone based on how much space it has.
The key difference between how capacity and RAM measure gigabytes is in how many GB are used. Phone storage will typically have 64GB or more, whereas RAM is often in intervals of four, e.g., 4GB, 8GB or 12GB RAM. Random access memory will never measure in the quantities that storage does, and so this is an easy way to avoid any confusion between them.
Things to consider
When choosing a phone with storage in mind, consider the space that will be available to you. Some factors will affect overall storage capacity, including:
• Software updates – some space will be reserved for essential updates and files
• Expandable storage – certain phones have storage which can be expanded with a Micro SD card
To give yourself the flexibility of additional storage should your phone fill up, a model with a Micro SD slot is recommended, such as the Samsung Galaxy A52.
How many gigabytes does my phone have?
You can check how much storage space your phone currently has, and what its maximum capacity is, via your phone’s Settings menu:
On iOS:
- Go to Settings
- Select General > About
- Scroll down until you see Capacity. Beneath that you will also see your phone’s available space
On Android:
- Go to Settings
- Tap Storage
a. If you have a Samsung phone, select Device Care - Scroll down to the Storage section
Storing photos
If you regularly store photos on your phone, you will usually require less storage space than someone who prioritises gaming or recording videos, due to the small file size of photos. Some budget to mid-range phones, such as the Oppo A54, come with** 64GB storage**, which is more than enough for hundreds of photos, including larger resolution images.
Storing videos
Videos are much larger than photos, especially those filmed in 4K, so bigger storage capacities should be prioritised when buying a phone.
128GB storage, as found in the Galaxy S22 Plus, offers plenty of space for storing videos, but 256GB is also recommended if you want to save lots of 4K videos, making the iPhone 14 Pro a great option to choose too.
Storing games
Games are one of the most demanding content types when it comes to pushing storage capacity to the limit. With some games being 1GB or more in size, storing multiple games will eventually take up a lot of space.
If you install and play a lot of games, it is advisable to get a phone with at least 256GB storage space, which will provide significant room for a large number of games, videos and more. 512GB is also an option and can provide even greater flexibility for storage.
There are ways you can free up space on your existing phone too. If you need ideas for cleaning up your iPhone or Android device, check out our guide for the best storage space solutions.