As the most affordable iPhone 6s on the market, the 16 GB variant costs $649 – still expensive for a device with such minuscule storage by today’s standards. Regardless, it’s still THE spanking new rose-gold iPhone 6s, complete with a truckload of awesome new features like the highly touted 3D Touch, Live Photos, and the new ultra high definition camera…. anyway, did you forget that the base model is only 16 GB? So did I for a second.
However, you could find yourself scrambling to make space for your apps, photos, and messages everyday: the entry variant of the iPhone contains little space to work with. Add the fact that system files and pre-installed apps also take a chunk of the storage space, a 16 GB iPhone doesn’t give you 16 GB from the get-go: you’re probably getting 11-12 GB at most.
Fortunately, you can still make the most of your device and its tiny storage space at the same time. If you’ve taken advantage of Sprint’s promo or preferred to save up, here are some tips which can help you maximize your iPhone 6s 16 GB model:
Don’t store 4k videos
The iPhone 6s is capable of shooting ultra high definition or 4k videos. Though we admit this is awesome and we would love to start recording now, it has a glaring implication: it will gobble up your iPhone’s already limited storage space. Though there’s no harm in shooting 4k videos once in a while, it’s best to immediately transfer those video files into your computer or cloud storage.
OR you could record and store lower quality – but who wants to do that? Doing so would not hurt if you’re going to use its video recording capabilities to shoot videos of your cat – unless your fans demand 4k cats.
Disable HDR
We understand why you’re raising your arms and rolling your eyes at this point. Seriously, what’s the point of getting an iPhone with a better camera if you’re going to tweak the settings to make it shoot lesser quality images?
Regardless of what you guys think, 12 MP pictures of the sun rising and five megapixel selfies will always take up a lot of space. In this case, your best bet is to disable the HDR, which combines the exposures different pictures to give you a single, awesome, and storage-eating image. Turning it off on Settings will give you more room for your 16 GB iPhone in the long run.
Stream instead of download
Downloading music and videos is so yesterday.
At only $10 a month (and a three month free trial) you can download Apple’s music streaming service, aptly called Apple Music. It’s cool and all, but it needs a few improvements for it to lead the industry. With over 30 million songs in its library, you wouldn’t need to download your favorite tracks – it likely has it all. Other than Apple Music, there’s always Spotify and Rdio.
As for videos, there’s always Netflix.
Given the iPhone 6s’ limited storage space, there is no room for these multimedia files anymore. Gone are the days of Steve Jobs’ “1000 songs in your pocket” – it’s already 30 million songs straight from the cloud.
Turn off Live Photos
We’re not telling to NOT use this beautiful new feature, but it’s best to only use it on special occasions. Live Photos similar to videos in terms of file sizes, so be sure to turn this feature off (it’s on by default) on the iPhone 6s Settings > Photos & Camera.
Delete unused apps
If, in the future, you end up downloading games but end up quitting them, there’s no point in letting them linger in your iPhone 6s any longer. Collectively, unused apps (especially games) are major offenders so be sure to audit your apps and sort out the most important ones from the busts.
Cloud storage
Save and back up your files on cloud storage services, such as Apple’s very own iCloud, which lowered its prices recently, Google Drive, and Dropbox.
After you’ve went over the guide and followed the above mentioned tips, it seems like 16 GB does not sound half as bad as it was at the start.
Do you have your own storage-saving tips? Tell us your suggestions in the comments!
