Apple may double the maximum storage allocation from 1TB (terabyte) to 2TB in next year’s iPhone models, if we can believe the latest reports.
The Chinese site MyDrivers (via 9to5Mac) proposes that the company will make another storage jump in 2022, just one year after offering 1TB on an iPhone for the first time. This theory is based on early testing activity at supplier partners.
“Some partners are already testing new products,” the site writes (filtered through Google Translate). “Flash memory may be upgraded to QLC flash memory, and the maximum capacity may be increased to 2TB.”
In that paragraph the site makes the idea seem merely a possibility. But earlier in the article it states, quite baldly: “The hardware will also be upgraded, with a maximum capacity of 2TB.” Either way, the earliness of the rumour, not to mention the source being the supply chain rather than Apple itself, makes it impossible to be truly certain this is going to happen.
MyDrivers doesn’t have much of a track record – although it did predict that the 13-series iPhones would get a bump in charging speed, and this appears to be broadly correct, for at least some models – and 9to5Mac refers to the report, not unreasonably, as a “sketchy rumour”. But it also concedes that the idea makes some sense, given the emphasis Apple put on the new ProRes video format in its iPhone 13 presentation.
As the writer and developer Steve Moser explains on Twitter, ProRes videos consume considerably more storage space than older formats: up to 6GB per minute while recording in 4K.
Admittedly, most users would never need anywhere near 2TB of storage on their iPhone, but it might be a different matter for pro videographers. Still, given how infrequently Apple tends to increase the storage allocations on the iPhone, this will have to remain a long shot until further evidence emerges.
Catch up with all the latest rumours about next year’s launch with our iPhone 14 news hub. If you don’t want to wait that long – and who could blame you? – pick up a bargain on the current range with our roundup of the best iPhone deals.
This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation (using DeepL) and additional reporting by David Price.