256GB NAND chips enter mass production making iPhone 7 Plus with 256GB storage a possibility

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 16 Mar 2016

256GB SandDisk NAND

Rumors about Apple offering the iPhone 7 Plus in a 256GB storage option have made the rounds of the internet a few times. In recent times, two major developments in the NAND industry does seem to indicate that rumors of Apple planning on offering a 256GB storage variant for the iPhone 7 Plus are likely true.

Firstly, last month, Samsung became the first company to start the mass production of 256GB NAND chips for smartphones. Up until then, no NAND supplier had started mass production of 256GB NAND chips for smartphones, which meant that Apple offering a 256GB storage option for the iPhone 7 Plus was technically not possible.

Secondly, pictures of 256GB NAND flash memory from SanDisk have now leaked, which also supplies Apple with NAND chips for various iPhones.

These recent developments do add further credence to rumors about Apple offering the iPhone 7 Plus with a 256GB storage option. With the upcoming iPhones likely coming with a higher resolution screen, there is a high probability that Apple will ditch the base 16GB storage option, and instead offer them with 32GB of storage space. The increase in base storage capacity will also allow the company to offer the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in a higher 256GB storage option, though I doubt that demand for a high storage capacity on a smartphone exists right now.

It is also entirely possible that Apple can end up using these high capacity NAND chips in the iPad Pro to offer 256GB of storage space on it. With the tablet targeted at ‘pro’ users, it does make sense for the product to come with a high storage capacity.

What do you think? Will you buy an iPhone with 256GB storage space if Apple offered one?

[Via HDBlog]