I already know, what I will buy, a refurbished Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, 256GB. My current phone has 128 GB and I constantly battle that during every vacation. As I also try to degoogle myself, at least until I actually get my to-be homelab running, I know I need more phone storage. But I wonder how people in this community decide. I suppose many of you might answer, that you buy a phone with extendable storage via SD card, but what about those of you who decide for a phone, that provides no such option? In my case Pixels never had SD cards, but I still need a Pixel, because I plan to test GrapheneOS with it.
When buying a phone, how much storage do you consider enough?
byu/mathmul inFrugal
Posted by mathmul
12 Comments
These days, I would want 256GB. I imagine will become the norm in next couple years, same how it was 64-128-256.
I always get the lower storage option, im a light user. Even with expandable storage. I dont use services like Spotify and have all my music offline, even then I dont need the larger storage. In the event that I need more storage, I carry external sources of storage. Small usb-c sticks that carry 250+GB are tiny these days.
I had 128gb for about 4 years, until this year. In the beginning it was fine (since it was 64gb before that). I got a 512gb because it was same price as 128gb during promo. If not same price, I would have gotten the 256gb model. Since I have 512gb, I put extra stuff on it and don’t worry about it, but 256gb would be fine for me.
Minimun 256gb. If its like $50 more to go from 256gb to 512gb, go for it. More than $50, not worth it unless you know you truly will use it.
I am running graphene OS on google pixel 9 and I only use 46gb. Tbh I suspect graphene just doesn’t need as much storage cause I got the 256gb one thinking I would need all that space but apparently not? It is pretty easy to connect to your pc and remove files if you run low on space and if you are homelabbing you can set up your own cloud storage.
The smallest option and then JUST MAKE IT WORK
on iOS i’ve got 25gb of music and 40gb of games, but use cloud storage for photos (750gb)
so in total i use 132gb of 512 total… could’ve probably got a smaller phone…
My phone is also my camera, my calculator, etc… I don’t buy things that I can use my phone for and I keep my phones as long as they work, so i buy the best one I can afford. Memory and camera are the two top features, other then actual phone functions ofc
I don’t even look at storage, I just buy the phone.
Never had an issue in twenty years
I just looked up my phone’s storage that I’ve had for three years…
Apparently it’s 64gb lol
I check for external SD card compatibility.
64 GB
– Sure, I *can* clutter more, installing every free app I’m stumbling across.
– I might also burn through 64 GB during one hour of shooting stills.
But(!)
– *My* phone(!) isn’t supposed to act as primary camera.
– Going on a somewhat plugged vacation I’d download files & footage to another, way less desirable & exposed device + maybe also external backups; i.e. I might have 20GB of phone space per outing.
I usually think about storage in terms of what actually grows over time, not just what fits on day one. photos and videos are the big creep, especially if you travel and shoot a lot, plus offline maps, music, and podcasts if you are cutting back on cloud stuff. for people running custom OS setups or avoiding cloud sync, extra headroom matters more because cleanup is more manual. going from 128 to 256 GB is where most people stop thinking about storage entirely, which is kind of the frugal sweet spot. paying for more only really makes sense if you know you hate managing files or plan to keep the phone for a long time.
I get the lightest storage option. I don’t use loads of apps, and I have limited photos on my phone as I’m not a big photo taker. I usually always have at least half of my storage capacity available.