Abstract
- The easiest way of saving area is to dump full-resolution images and movies to iCloud, and dial down capturing high quality too if you may get away with it.
- You can too reclaim a number of area by offloading unused apps and purging previous Messages attachments. Offloaded apps go away their information intact in the event you want it later.
- In the event you’ve received cached music, podcasts, and video, think about deleting belongings you’re not going to play offline anytime quickly.
Whereas the tempo of iPhone evolution has slowed in recent times, Apple nonetheless has quite a lot of weapons in its arsenal to influence you to improve, storage being a giant one. Each iPhone mannequin has a number of storage tiers obtainable — so in the event you discover your 128GB iPhone 14 would not have sufficient area, you are greater than welcome to leap to a 256GB iPhone 16. In the event you’re capturing 4K video each day, you may splurge on a 1TB iPhone 16 Pro.
There are a selection of strategies you should utilize to stretch out your current storage, fortunately, a lot of them offered by Apple itself. The corporate appears conscious that upgrades aren’t at all times lifelike. I am getting by comfortably with a 128GB iPhone, and this is how one can too.
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1 Optimize picture and video storage
And shoot extra sparingly, maybe?
Maybe the one largest sinkhole for iPhone storage is the Pictures app. Folks are inclined to shoot a whole lot of images and movies of their pals, household, and attention-grabbing sights, and so they’re reluctant to delete something in any respect. Over time, a Pictures library can develop to devour dozens of gigabytes.
Maybe the one largest sinkhole for iPhone storage is the Pictures app.
To reclaim most of that space for storing, you may optionally offload full-resolution images and movies to your iCloud account, forsaking smaller “device-sized” recordsdata till you want one thing higher. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Pictures, then faucet Optimize iPhone Storage. Remember that the offload course of can take some time, and that you could be want an iCloud+ subscription in the event you’re already utilizing most or the entire 5GB of iCloud storage Apple provides free of charge. Plans vary between $1 and $10 monthly, relying on how a lot room you want.
There’s extra to say within the information linked under, however you also needs to think about going to Settings > Digital camera and selecting 1080p video modes as an alternative of 4K. Whereas 4K is sharper, it consumes way more storage, and you will not even discover the distinction until you are watching on a pc monitor, a Imaginative and prescient Professional, or a big 4K TV. On TVs, upscaling ought to hold 1080p trying acceptable.

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2 Offload unused apps
Completely, or simply briefly
It is surprisingly simple to finish up with iPhone apps you hardly ever use. Maybe you downloaded a parking app you solely ever wanted as soon as, or a social media app that is since taken an extremist flip (cough). Actually, there are a number of video games on the App Retailer that develop into boring after a couple of performs, or bare money grabs filled with advertisements or microtransactions. Apple would not notably care in regards to the high quality of its recreation library, and it exhibits.
Head over to Settings > Apps > App Retailer and toggle Offload Unused Apps. This may robotically delete apps if you have not used them shortly, forsaking any information you created in case you want it later. Offloaded “ghost” apps present a cloud icon subsequent to them — all it’s important to do is faucet on an app to redownload it and restore the information.
You also needs to think about scrubbing your app library manually, nonetheless, since there is not any sense forsaking icons and junk information for one thing you are by no means going to the touch once more. Give attention to video games, you probably have any, since their artwork and audio belongings are inclined to make them the most important app sorts. Triple-A video games like Resident Evil 8 can dwarf your Pictures assortment.

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3 Delete giant Messages attachments
Purge these memes and one-time movies
In the event you use the Messages app each day, there’s an opportunity you have accrued gigabytes of hooked up images and movies with out realizing it. The issues individuals ship aren’t simply sitting within the cloud — in the event you obtain them, they’re nonetheless sitting in your iPhone, and there is not any sense conserving them round in the event you do not plan to take a look at them once more. That work prank would possibly’ve been humorous on the time, however you in all probability do not want your coworker’s video of it two years later.
To wash up your Messages attachments:
- Go to Settings > Common > iPhone Storage
- Scroll down and choose Evaluate Giant Attachments. Faucet on thumbnails to preview gadgets.
- Whenever you’re able to delete one thing, faucet Edit within the top-right nook.
- Choose the attachment(s) you need to eliminate, then click on the trash can icon to delete them.
That is everlasting and doubtlessly tedious, so you could need to think about different storage clean-up choices first.

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4 Take away cached music, podcasts, and video
You do not want all of your media, on a regular basis
It is usually a good suggestion to maintain some offline leisure in your iPhone, particularly while you’re touring by locations with weak mobile protection. After we lived in Texas, my spouse and I usually drove by rural areas with no cell protection to talk of — our music merely stopped if it wasn’t saved regionally.
It is simple to go overboard, nonetheless. You in all probability do not want your total music library obtainable 24/7, and even all of your favorites — on my iPhone, for instance, the one offline playlists I’ve embrace issues like my gym soundtrack and a playlist for driving my EUC. I restrict Apple Podcast downloads to the most recent episodes, and I do not hold any video saved in any respect, since I would a lot slightly watch issues on my iPad if I am on an extended journey. It has extra storage, and I am not apprehensive about leaving (a lot) room on it for navigation apps like Google Maps.
You in all probability do not want your total music library obtainable 24/7.
Even in the event you’ve received a 512GB or 1TB iPhone, it is in all probability finest to restrict video downloads to belongings you anticipate to look at within the close to future. You would possibly like the concept of getting each episode of The Office at your disposal, however that might come again to chew you while you need to obtain Nosferatu or Masters of the Air.
In the event you dwell in a serious city space, it is really fairly uncommon to be away from first rate mobile or Wi-Fi protection. Work on the idea that almost all of your media will likely be streamable.

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