Apple's 64GB Era is Over - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple's 64GB Era is Over

All of the iPhone and iPad models that are currently part of Apple's lineup now start with at least 128GB of storage, marking the end of the 64GB era.

iPhone Free Up Storage Feature Redux 1
Aside from refurbished devices, the final iPhone and iPad models that Apple offered with 64GB of base storage were the third-generation iPhone SE and the iPad 10. Both of those devices are now discontinued, having been replaced by the iPhone 16e and the new iPad with the A16 chip, which are each available with a minimum of 128GB of storage.

This is not the first end of an era for Apple's tech specs in recent months. Since October, all Macs sold by Apple have been configured with at least 16GB of RAM, again with the exception of refurbished models. Previously, the minimum was 8GB.

The first iPhone models with 64GB of base storage were the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X in 2017, while the first iPad Pro models to be configured with at least 64GB of storage were released in that same year.

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Today With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Update: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and changes coming with iOS...
deep black iphone 18 pro

Apple Says iPhone 18 Pro Max Sold in U.S. Differs in One Way

Saturday September 12, 2026 3:27 pm PDT by
As noted by Nicolas Lellouche, who writes for the French tech website Numerama, Apple has updated its tech specs pages for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to clarify which models are equipped with its new C2 cellular modem and where. Apple now says the iPhone 18 Pro has a C2 modem worldwide, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses the chip in every country except for the U.S. According...

Top Rated Comments

JPack Avatar
20 months ago
But the 5GB iCloud era remains.

Of course, for a service fee, Apple can help with that.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
20 months ago
Why I remember when we had 8GB and were happy to have it.

Attachment Image
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Havalo Avatar
20 months ago
And 5GB should be 200GB free space. But that’s wishful thinking…
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
20 months ago

And 5GB should be 200GB free space. But that’s wishful thinking…
Even if Apple doesn't increase it, there are probably a lot of people who would be happy if it was 5GB per device instead of 5GB total no matter how many devices you have.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tomas1988 Avatar
20 months ago
There were times when that was enough... Time flies and life changes …and the smallest capacity of 128 seems very small these days too
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BelgianChoklit Avatar
20 months ago

But the 5GB iCloud era remains.

Of course, for a service fee, Apple can help with that.
And I think it's here to stay.

Apple's goal with this isn't necessarily just to get money from people who don't have enough with 5GB (which is everyone btw).

What Apple is aiming for imo is that because people will need to buy extra storage, they will most likely add a credit card to their account to pay for it. Adding a credit card to your Apple ID makes your account spend-ready to buy more stuff on the app store or through in app purchases. You could of course buy a gift card, however because it's a recurring payment I think most people will have added their credit card and so that obstacle that would have before prevented you from making some purchase, is now gone.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)