Planning to buy the iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max? But confused on which storage variant you should buy, especially since Apple now offers a new 1TB storage variant? Check out our iPhone 13 Pro storage guide to help make this decision easily.
Apple offers the iPhone 13 Pro series in four different storage configurations: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. The company previously only offered iPhones with three different storage options, but with the iPhone 13 Pro, it has added a new 1TB option. The iPhone 13 Pro series are among the first smartphones in the world to ship with a whopping 1TB of internal storage.
Which iPhone 13 Pro storage option is right for you then? Will 1TB be overkill? Read our guide below to find out.
Which iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max Storage Capacity Should You Buy?
iPhone 13 Pro – Capacity and Pricing
Before we proceed further, below is a quick rundown of the pricing of the iPhone 13 Pro for different storage tiers.
- 128GB – $999
- 256GB – $1,099
- 512GB – $1,299
- 1TB – $1,499
The iPhone 13 Pro Max pricing is similar, though every model is $100 more expensive compared to iPhone 13 Pro.
- 128GB – $1,099
- 256GB – $1,199
- 512GB – $1,399
- 1TB – $1,599
Check out the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max pricing and launch details in other countries here.
Apple is charging a $100 premium for the jump in storage from 128GB to 256GB. However, for 512GB and 1TB, there’s a $200 premium for every tier.
General Storage Guidelines
If you’re the kind of person who likes to keep their entire music library offline on their iPhones, or you download a lot of movies or apps, it’s best if you don’t skimp on your storage. If you like to keep your entire photo library available offline on the device, it’s best if you go for the largest possible storage capacity.
On the other hand, if you use music and movie streaming services and back up all photos and videos to iCloud Photo Library, you might just get away with the lowest storage tier. But even then, you should be prepared when you hit the wall. You’ll need to delete apps and backup photos actively to ensure enough storage space available. There’s also the fact that if you use iCloud to backup your photos, you will eventually run out of storage space on it and have to subscribe to a higher storage plan.
Who Should Buy the 128GB iPhone 13 Pro?
The iPhone 13 Pro series ships with 128GB of base storage as standard. That’s more than enough for most consumers who typically use their iPhone to take photos, videos, stream content, chat, etc.
You’ll eventually have to manage the storage on your iPhone after a couple of years and keep deleting all the photos and videos you take every once in a while. Still, if you are okay with that, the 128GB storage variant of the iPhone 13 Pro will be more than enough for you.
Remember that you can only record ProRes video in Full HD resolution on the base 128GB iPhone 13 Pro models. So, if you plan to get the iPhone 13 Pro for its ProRes video recording capabilities, you have to spring for the 256GB option at the very minimum.
Who Should Buy the 256GB iPhone 13 Pro?
The 256GB iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max is for someone who is always on the move and who tends to have a few movies on their device so that they can watch it anytime. If you intend to use your iPhone for 3-4 years and never once look at the amount of free storage remaining or bother with uninstalling old apps and deleting old data. It is for someone who does not mind spending an extra hundred or so dollars for that additional peace of mind.
You might also want to check the amount of storage space you are currently using on your iPhone and how much it bugs you. If you own a 128GB iPhone with around 80-90GB of storage space occupied, it makes sense to go for the 256GB iPhone 13 Pro. If you are only using about 40-50GB of space, with most of them occupied by apps and photos, you are going to be just fine with the 128GB variant.
Most iPhone 13 Pro consumers should ideally decide between the 128GB and 256GB storage options, as anything more will be overkill for them. You’ll also be paying only $100 extra for the jump from 128GB to 256GB storage, which is not as bad as what Apple is charging for other storage tiers.
Who Should Buy the 512GB iPhone 13 Pro?
The 512GB iPhone 13 Pro is straight up going to be overkill for almost everyone. It is only ideal for someone who plans to record a lot of ProRes or Cinematic Videos with their iPhone 13 Pro Max. The additional storage space is also useful for someone who tends to carry their FLAC or video library with them.
Power users might also want to consider buying the 512GB iPhone 13 Pro, especially if they play a lot of games or plan to do basic video editing right on their phone.
Who Should Buy the 1TB iPhone 13 Pro?
Frankly, for almost all consumers, the 1TB storage option for the iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max is basically pointless. It can come in handy for someone who uses their iPhone for vlogging or shooting videos on a daily basis. Otherwise, an average iPhone user is going to have a real hard time using all that space.
With so much storage space, you can also turn your iPhone 13 Pro into an external drive of sorts and move content between your devices when needed.
If you have already made up your mind to buy the 1TB iPhone 13 Pro, you likely already have a use case for it which is why you are looking to buy it. Or you just have a lot of money to burn.
Buy iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max
You can buy the iPhone 13 Pro from any of the following retailers and carriers below:
Do drop a comment and let us know which iPhone 13 Pro storage variant you went ahead with and why?
