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Report: iPhone 6s base model to have 16GB of storage

Hoping for at least 32 GB of storage on the base iPhone 6s? You might be disappointed based on a picture of the reported packaging unless Apple offers four storage variations.
Written by Kevin Tofel, Contributor

Hoping for the new iPhone 6s and iPhones 6s Plus to come with a minimum of 32 GB storage capacity? You might be disappointed on September 9: Reported images of the former phone's packaging for France suggest 16 GB is still the base storage.

The packaging made a Friday appearance on Twitter, clearly showing the iPhone 6s branding along with 16 GB of internal flash memory.

iphone-6s-16-gb.jpg

While it's fairly common to maintain storage capacity from prior models during the "s" year, many were disappointed to see a choice in 2014 between 16, 64, and 128 GB models. Some were surely hoping that Apple would boost the base model capacity to 32 GB, given the amount of photos, videos, music and apps iPhone users tend to carry.

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Indeed, I was among the crowd that thought a 16 GB option was out of place. Apple doubled storage options on the higher capacity phones but left the base at a meager amount; particularly since the iPhone has no memory card expansion option.

So why did Apple leave the base iPhone at 16 GB last year and is apparently doing the same; at least on the iPhone 6s?

Profit.

That's the only logical reason here, considering a flash memory module upgrade costs the company just a few dollars compared to the iPhone's retail price. An IHS teardown of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus last year estimates that it costs Apple $15 for the 16 GB flash memory and 1 GB RAM combined.

Ironically though, the real profit won't come from sales of the 16 GB unit.

Instead, by offering a base iPhone 6s with 16 GB of storage, Apple is making it a easier decision to simply bypass it for the 64 GB version. Why not when you get can four times the storage for just $100 extra; what used to buy you double the iPhone storage?

As a result, there's more of an incentive to spend that extra $100; most of which boost the profit margin on the 64 and 128 GB iPhones since it doesn't cost Apple anything close to $100 for the added storage capacity.

It's still possible of course that the purported packaging is incorrect or fake. Frankly, I'm hoping it is.

If there ever was a good time for Apple to boost the entry level iPhone storage, now is it.

The camera sensor on the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus is expected to jump from 8 to 12 megapixels, requiring more storage for every photo. Add in the rumored 4K video recording and you'll eat up gobs of storage there.

And don't forget one of the big selling points of Apple Music: As a subscriber, you can download as much music as you want. What's the point of that if you don't have enough storage on your iPhone?

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