{"id":576496,"date":"2026-07-31T02:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T02:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/576496\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T02:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T02:58:11","slug":"dont-splurge-for-a-phone-with-more-storage-theres-a-cheaper-and-safer-way-to-future-proof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/576496\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t splurge for a phone with more storage\u2014there’s a cheaper (and safer) way to future-proof"},"content":{"rendered":"

Due to rising prices, people are using their phones for longer than ever. Future-proofing is now a major consideration, and that means opting for more storage. However, paying extra for more GBs may create more problems than it solves.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good that the days of phones having only 128GB of internal storage is finally fading, but the storage renaissance has coincided with rising prices across the board. On the surface, it seems like a smart choice to bite the bullet and pay more for extra storage. You won\u2019t have to upgrade as soon, which will save more money in the long run.<\/p>\n

That may be true, but there are some things to consider before you do it.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s compare the numbers<\/p>\n

\"Pixel
\n Credit:\u00a0Cory Gunther \/ How-To Geek<\/p>\n

We all know prices are going up everywhere, but how much exactly has it impacted phones in terms of storage? Let\u2019s compare a few popular Android phones in 2026 vs just two years ago in 2024.<\/p>\n

The Pixel 8 Pro was released in 2024 with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options. It started at $1,000, then an additional $60 for 256GB, another $60 on top of that for 512GB, and an extra $100 from there for 1TB\u2014total price of $1,220.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to this year: The Pixel 11 Pro is expected to have a $100 price bump, but start at 256GB instead of 128GB. That would put it at only $40 more than the Pixel 8 Pro 256GB. However, the jump from 256GB to 512GB is rumored to be a whopping $120, and going up to 1TB could be an additional $230\u2014total price of $1,450.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a similar story for Samsung Galaxy phones. The Galaxy S24 launched in 2024 at $800 for 128GB and an extra $60 for 256GB\u2014no 512GB option. This year, the Galaxy S26 started at $900 for 256GB and $1,020 for 512GB. Like Google, it doubled the price jump.<\/p>\n


\n \"Samsung<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tIt finally happened\u2014I\u2019m running out of phone storage space for the first time ever
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Alert: Storage almost full<\/p>\n

Is it wise to carry around so much personal content?<\/p>\n

Price isn\u2019t the only concern<\/p>\n

\"Android
\n Credit:\u00a0Joe Fedewa \/ How-To Geek<\/p>\n

Now, price is obviously a big factor when it comes to buying a new phone. That\u2019s especially true if you\u2019re considering opting for extra storage. $1,450 for a Pixel 11 Pro with 1TB of storage is a lot of money for a regular \u2018ol slab phone. There\u2019s one other thing to think about, though.<\/p>\n

People who buy phones with extra storage generally aren\u2019t using cloud storage as much\u2014hence the need for more storage. So, while it\u2019s great to be able to use the phone longer, it also means carrying around several years of personal content. You may not think of it this way, but in a very literal sense, we\u2019re all walking around with hard drives in our pockets.<\/p>\n

Should anything happen to the phone, there\u2019s potentially years’ worth of personal data, photos, videos, and more that\u2019s potentially inaccessible. Avoiding cloud storage out of concern for privacy sounds great until you\u2019re stuck without a backup. It\u2019s simply not a good idea to max out the storage and use your phone as your primary storage device.<\/p>\n

Treat your phone as temporary storage<\/p>\n

Cloud storage is not the answer<\/p>\n

That being said, I\u2019m not advocating for cloud storage. I think it\u2019s a perfectly justifiable position to prefer local storage. That\u2019s how many people backup their computers, and there\u2019s no reason you can\u2019t do the same with your phone.<\/p>\n

Rather than splurge for a phone with more storage, put that extra money toward a USB-C flash drive or, even better, a portable SSD<\/a>. Then, make it a habit to regularly move content from your phone to the storage device. This solves both of the problems I talked about above.<\/p>\n

First, it\u2019s much cheaper than bumping up to a phone\u2019s higher storage option. Samsung will charge you $120 for an extra 128GB on top of the base model, but you can snag a 128GB USB-C flash drive<\/a> for less than $30. If money isn\u2019t an issue, you could even put that $120 towards a 500GB SSD<\/a> and portable USB-C enclosure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve included the SSD option because this isn\u2019t just about saving money. As I said, it also encourages safe backup practices. You can keep personal content on your backup device, and it will work with any phone you use. Putting $120 toward a portable SSD will go much further than putting $120 toward a \u201cbetter\u201d phone, but the cheap USB-C flash drive is just as cool.<\/p>\n

On paper, it sounds like a great idea to pay extra now and be able to use a phone for years to come. But we can\u2019t forget that phones travel everywhere with us, and that includes everything that\u2019s stored on them. Make sure you have a good backup plan if anything should happen to it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Due to rising prices, people are using their phones for longer than ever. Future-proofing is now a major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576497,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[61,60,202,80],"class_list":["post-576496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mobile","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}