We asked, you told us: 128GB of storage definitely isn't enough for flagships

It seems like just the other day when the best Android phones offered 32GB of internal storage, but the industry has upped the ante in a big way over the years. Now, we’ve seen some flagship devices launching with 256GB of base storage.

Unfortunately, the latest Pixel 8 leaks suggest that the Pixel 8 Pro will stick with 128GB of base storage. Senior Features Editor Rob Triggs bemoaned this decision last week, saying that 128GB wasn’t enough for Google’s Pro model in particular. But do you think this is sufficient storage for a flagship device? We included a poll in our opinion piece, and here’s how you answered it.

Is 128GB of storage enough for a flagship?

Results

More than 1,100 votes were tallied in this survey, and it turns out that over two-thirds of respondents (68.68%) felt that 128GB of storage wasn’t enough for a flagship phone. We can understand this stance, as videos, photos, and games can quickly clog up your storage. In fact, it’s not unheard of to find games that are over 20GB on mobile (e.g. Genshin Impact). 128GB of base storage is particularly disappointing when you’re paying over $800 for a phone.

On the other end of the spectrum, 31.32% of surveyed readers felt that 128GB of storage was sufficient on a flagship phone. These readers were vocal in the comments, with some noting that they made extensive use of cloud storage to reduce the need for more local storage.

Either way, we’re seeing brands like OPPO, Samsung, and Sony offering 256GB of base storage on some of their flagship phones. So we hope this continues to be a trend in 2024.

Comments

• Yukinoshita: I’ve never used up all 128 on my 6 or 7 pro… Heck I think I’ll be fine with 64!
• EdZ: Make effective use of your clouds and limit your phone storage on photographs and videos. 128 is fine. Storing so much data in any device should not be necessary. “If your device gets steamrollered, have you lost anything? If so, learn clouds.”
• Rob A.: I thought by default photos are stored in the cloud via Google Photos??? I have a 7 Pro and and only use about half of my 128 GB of storage. I don’t take tons of pictures but I do certainly make use of the camera. I’d rather see an SD card slot than on-board storage, if anything.
• fearlessferret: It would have been plenty if it had MicroSD. I know that they know that, though.
• Nope!: I’m one of those light users. 128GB has been enough for me since 2017 however I’ll be looking for a higher storage capacity for my next upgrade. Apps, photos and video files aren’t getting any smaller.
• Cory Wilson: I’m using a 128gb pixel 7 pro now and have 40gb free. It’s called Google One cloud storage
• PhoenixWitti: There is nothing “Pro” about a Pixel phone. The moniker is Google’s way of trying to pretend they’re the equal of Samsung and Apple. It’s not the paltry storage on a Pixel that’s the problem; it’s the inflated prices people pay for decidedly amateurish Google products. Just look at the Pixel Fold abomination for $1800. The “Pro” Pixel should be no more than $600.