Phil Schiller Talks 16 GB iPhones and Thinness vs Battery Life Tradeoffs

phil_schillerA day after the WWDC keynote address, Apple SVP of Marketing Phil Schiller joined Daring Fireball's John Gruber on Gruber's podcast, The Talk Show. The episode has not yet been posted, but The Verge was on hand to document the interview. Schiller addressed concerns about 16 GB iPhones, the decision between thin devices and battery life and the single USB port on the MacBook.

Gruber suggested to Schiller that the Cupertino company's iOS devices should come with larger storage capacities on the low end, as the 16 GB of storage provided in the base iPhone 6 or 6 Plus is harder to live with with the current size of apps. Schiller countered that services like iCloud could make up the difference.

"The belief is more and more as we use iCloud services for documents and our photos and videos and music," he said, "that perhaps the most price-conscious customers are able to live in an environment where they don't need gobs of local storage because these services are lightening the load."

Schiller also said that using 16 GB storage for lower-end models allows Apple to save money for use on higher-end components in other parts of the device, like the camera.

When asked about the relationship between the thickness of a phone and battery life, and whether maintaining the thickness of its devices could lead to more power-efficient internals and bigger batteries, Schiller said that Apple has the right balance with its devices. He points out that a device with a larger battery and thickness becomes heavier and takes longer to charge. Schiller notes that Apple tries to figure out the tradeoffs with every device it makes, and he thinks the company has made "great choices" in those tradeoffs.

The Apple SVP also acknowledged that the new MacBook, with its one USB-C port and new keyboard, isn't for everyone. However, he said he believes that Apple is a company that needs to release forward-thinking products like the new MacBook, which is an effort to push the world into a place where users don't plug things into their laptops. Schiller said he wants an Apple that's "bold and taking risks and being aggressive."

Apple has faced criticism for its "bold decisions" in the past, with users unsure of whether a 16 GB device is enough for a daily driver, concern about whether new devices will have improved battery life with thinner designs and products with new technology that come with heavy initial limitations.

While the episode has not yet debuted online yet, it should be available on Daring Fireball in due time.

Update: Full video of the interview is now available. There is some profanity, primarily during the introductory section before Gruber and Schiller take the stage.

Top Rated Comments

flash84x Avatar
109 months ago
price-conscious customers are able to live in an environment where they don't need gobs of local storage because these services are lightening the load

So they can pay a monthly subscription for more storage space since you only give them 5GB? Bad argument.
Score: 91 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gugy Avatar
109 months ago
Apple is being greedy. 32gb should be standard on all base models. Seriously they make large profits and jumping the storage is going to be a minimal impact. The thing is they want to make sure people always go to that $100 more to get the next model that has an acceptable storage so they can even make more profit.

Try again Phil.
Score: 85 Votes (Like | Disagree)
3N16MA Avatar
109 months ago
Translation: We got rid of the 32GB option and kept the 16GB at the low end so everyone would upgrade to at least 64GB.
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kenrik Avatar
109 months ago
********. The price difference between 16 and 32gb chips is only a few dollars. They are just trying to keep the margins strong.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Broph Avatar
109 months ago
"Save money on higher-quality internals, such as the camera"... The margins are already ridiculously high, and the cost of flash storage from 16GB to 32GB is very minuscule in comparison. Stop being greedy.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
christarp Avatar
109 months ago
I agree with him completely about the macbook. If you don't like it, buy the macbook pro.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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