The iPhone 15 Pro May Be Getting a Big Storage Upgrade

This year’s iPhone 15 Pro lineup may bring the storage increase that power users have been hoping for, with a new report suggesting that Apple is set to double storage capacities across the board.

For years, Apple offered no more than three storage tiers for its iPhone Pro lineups. However, it changed this up with the 2021 iPhone 13 Pro when it added a fourth 1TB version at the top end. This continued with last year’s iPhone 14 Pro, which is available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities.

Now, a new report from yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog (via MacRumors) cites a supplier source that has revealed the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will bump the top-tier storage option to 2TB.

While the post doesn’t go into much detail, this would likely result in Apple doubling the other storage capacities rather than adding a fifth tier or leaving a huge gap between the 512GB and 2TB versions or the 256GB and 1TB models.

As with all rumors, it’s important to take this one with some level of skepticism. After all, we heard the same thing about the iPhone 14 in late 2021, which never materialized.

Nevertheless, such a move seems plausible insofar as it could help to justify the rumored price increases coming to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. However, price increases are even farther from being a certainty, as those are entirely at Apple’s discretion. Most analysts reporting on potential price increases are speculating from component and manufacturing costs and assuming that Apple would have to raise the selling price to compensate rather than lowering its profit margins.

That said, Bloomberg cited “people familiar with the matter” in a report last month that said Apple is at least “considering” raising the price for the two Pro models. It’s unknown where these sources are getting their information, but Bloomberg frequently has access to folks much closer to Apple than those of supply chain analysts.

If Apple indeed bumped the price of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max this year, it would be the first time the company has done so in the history of its higher-end iPhone lineups. The iPhone X ushered in the “Pro” series in 2017 with a $999 starting price that seemed unreasonably high to some people at the time. However, it’s been the base model price ever since, right through to the current iPhone 14 Pro. Similarly, the iPhone XS Max — the first larger version of the “Pro” lineup — sold for $1,099, which has also continued to this day.

Despite keeping the prices the same throughout, Apple doubled the base storage capacity from 64GB to 128GB in 2020 with the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. However, this filled a hole in the lineup since there had never been a 128GB model before that — the second tier was 256GB, while the iPhone XS and iPhone 11 Pro added a third 512GB option. As mentioned earlier, the iPhone 13 Pro then added a fourth 1TB model.

The higher capacity for the iPhone 13 Pro was partially a nod to the new ProRes video recording capabilities, which can produce massive files of up to 9.5GB per minute of video if you’re shooting at a full 4K resolution in 60 frames-per-second (fps). As it was, Apple limited this to 4K/30fps shooting and only made ProRes available on the 256GB models — which may be another reason to phase out the 128GB version entirely.

Even though it may seem pricey, the 1TB version actually offers the best value per gigabyte. Traditionally, Apple’s iPhone pricing spread works out to $50 per 64GB increase, or $0.78/GB. However, the 1TB model cuts that in half, giving you 512GB of extra storage at $0.39/GB. Apple likely thought a $400 price jump between iPhone models would have been pushing things.

Should Apple double the storage capacities of all iPhone 15 Pro models, it’s hard to say where the pricing will land. Even if Apple strives to keep the base model at the same $999/$1,099 level, the next capacity up would be 512GB. If Apple stays true to form, that would still be a $200 jump, effectively eliminating the $1,099/$1,199 price points. The 1TB models would probably remain at the same $1,499/$1,599 as it is now, and the 2TB versions could end up at a whopping $1,699/$1,799.

This could also be a way of increasing the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max pricing while keeping the base models the same. That way, Apple could still say that the new iPhone Pro “starts at $999.” While the 512GB and 1TB models would technically be sold for the same prices as their predecessors of the same capacity, they’d still represent price increases for the second and third storage tiers.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]