iPhone 7 Tipped to Finally Ditch 16GB Model; Ship With Minimum 32GB Storage

The latest iPhone 7 leak hints at a much needed change. An analyst looking at Apple's supply chain claims that the Cupertino giant will introduce the 32GB variant as the $199 base model.

IHS Technology analyst Kevin Wang took to Chinese social media (via 9to5Mac) to make these claims. If this is true, Apple will finally be ditching the 16GB variant, and reintroducing the 32GB storage variant. Apple is currently selling the iPhone devices in 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB variants.

This 32GB base model was hoped for by Apple fans last year as well, but Apple continued to market the 16GB model as its base variant. The company first introduced the 16GB variant in 2008, and it has remained as the base model ever since the iPhone 5 in 2012. Needless to say, the 16GB storage space is negligible in times where most of the entertainment is consumed and recorded on smartphones. With the rise of the app culture, alongside 4K recording capabilities, this shift to a 32GB base model makes sense in more ways than one.

Wang further claims that the iPhone 7 will feature 2GB of RAM, similar to the iPhone 6s. Previous leaks suggest that Apple is expected to bump the RAM to 3GB in its larger 5.5-inch model to accommodate the rumoured dual camera setup.

Apart from the addition of the 32GB variant, the analyst fails to mention which other storage variants will accompany alongside. Apple is also rumoured to add a 256GB storage variant with the iPhone 7. In any case, all of this is just speculation, and should be taken with a pinch of salt.

This year, Apple may also be looking to unveil three variants of the iPhone 7 - the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and the iPhone 7 Pro/Plus Premium. It should run on iOS 10, and the new A10 processor. The antenna bands are expected to shift to the edges, and the 3.5mm audio jack may (or may not) disappear.