iPhone 6s: entry-level handset with 16GB storage to stay, despite complaints

Many had hoped that Apple would take the opportunity to increase the smallest iPhone’s size – but that isn’t happening, according to reports

An Apple iPhone sits on a box on January 27, 2015 in San Anselmo, California (Getty Images)

The entry-level version of the new iPhone will remain at its small 16GB storage size, according to reports.

Many had hoped that the cheapest handset would see its internal storage upgraded to 32GB, to make space for the bigger files and increased amounts of media that people store on their device, and to respond to complaints about them being too easy to fill up.

But Apple appears to be focusing more on encouraging users to store data on their servers, in the cloud, rather than using the iPhone’s storage.

The new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will come in the same storage options as the 6 and 6 Plus – 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB – according to a new report from 9to5mac.

Apple marketing executive Phil Schiller responded to the complaints about small storage size in an interview in June, arguing that by encouraging users to store information in the cloud they could keep prices down.

"The belief is more and more as we use iCloud services for documents and our photos and videos and music that perhaps the most price-conscious customers are able to live in an environment where they don't need gobs of local storage because these services are lightening the load,” he said.

The company has also been seeking to shrink down the size of software, so that the phones can use their space more efficiently. iOS 9, for instance, has tools that allow apps to be shrunk down and download extra parts at a later date – and also reduces the space needed for the operating system itself, in an attempt to avoid the difficulties with installing that have blighted previous releases.

Apple has been gradually increasing the size of the more expensive options – which cost roughly £100 for each additional level of storage – but the bottom 16GB one has remained.

Apple is set to launch the new iPhone – alongside a redesigned Apple TV – at an event on September 9.