# 16, 32, or 64 gig?



## Buttercup (Oct 28, 2008)

I've never owned an iPad and am seriously considering pre-ordering one of the new ones.  What I don't know is what size to get so I need some help.

I'll mostly use it for email, web browsing, apps (games mostly) and will probably have a few movies and some music on it as well.

Suggestions?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

i always believe in buying the most memory you can afford.  better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.


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## Buttercup (Oct 28, 2008)

I do as well but if I absolutely won't need it then I'd rather spend that money elsewhere.


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## Not Here (May 23, 2011)

My husband talked me into getting a 32g for my phone. Big mistake. It's really easy to fill the space. When we got the iPad I didn't even discuss the size. It was 64 or nothing. The cloud is nice and everything but I've had a few glitches with it. Really, go for the 64.


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

I think it really depends on what you are going to be doing with the iPad.  If you don't plan to keep a lot of music and/or movies on it, less memory would probably be fine. I bought my 8-yr-old a 16gb wi-fi first gen refurb last year, and she's not even using half the available storage.  I've had my 32gb iPad for close to two years and I've never even come close to running out of space (I use it primarily for email, surfing, and kids' apps).  I pre-ordered the new iPad today and chose to go with 32gb again because it really fits my needs. That being said, I agree with the previous poster who said it's better to have to too much space than not enough, so if there's even a doubt in your mind, go with more storage.


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## Buttercup (Oct 28, 2008)

Thanks!  Still thinking about it and up for others experience. My iPhone is 16 gigs and I have almost 2 gigs of free space. However, I don't have much music on it and have no movies.  Tons of pics and videos taken with the phone though. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## kwajkat (Nov 6, 2008)

Movies really eat up the memory as do some high graphic games.  I would go with either the 32 or 64. Personally I have always gotten the 64 because I like to have several movies on  mine and have found that 32 is not big enough.  The other option you might consider is getting something like the Airstash which uses Sd cards and transmits to the ipad via bluetooth.  I am surprised that Apple didn't come out with a 128 or 256 version. I would jump all over one of those.   FYI I have 32 on my iphone and it is nearly full with photos, books and music.  

SO go accordingly and remember one can never have enough memory if you like to have a lot of movies, music and books on your device. 

Also look at the price difference and how much memory you get for the difference. Not that much different between them pricewise for what you are getting


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

I don't really see the point of the 32GB model.  In my mind, most people will fall into one of two use cases:

1.  Use it for news, books, email, streaming content via Wi-Fi.  16GB is plenty, because there's little/no local content.
2.  Content-heavy use away from Wi-Fi.  Here you want to bring as much stuff with you as possible (movies, etc), so you want as much capacity as possible.  64GB is the clear choice here.  There's a number of people in this group angry that there was no 128GB model.

I suppose the 32GB might apply to hardcore gamers who otherwise fall into group 1 (who just need the space for more apps), but that's about all I can think of.  This is kind of borne out by iPad 2 sales stats, where the 64GB 3G was the top seller, followed by the 16GB WiFi.  If you expect to always be in WiFi range, you don't need capacity.  If you're going to be out and about enough to want the cellular radio, you probably also want all the capacity you can get.


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

I actually just hit the order button on the 64 wifi - I debated about the 32 or 64 since last night and had both in my cart debating   and decided it is $100 difference so go for more.  I have the iPad 1 64 and I have quite a bit on it and this way I don't have to figure what I want to get rid of... I did decide to go with the wifi because 98% of the time I'm on wifi even with travel ...  And I have an iPhone and my old iPad if I felt I needed it.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Depends on usage.  I went with a 32gb iPad 2 and I haven't even come close to hitting 16gb as I don't put music or videos on it.  Not really photos either as I seldom download anything from my iPhone's photostream.  I mainly just use the iPad for reading PDFs, newspapers/magazines, internet/e-mail and random apps, so I didn't end up needing the extra space.

On the otherhand, I went with a 16gb iPhone 4s, and wish I'd went 32gb there so I could put more of my music on it.

Lesson learned for next time when I eventually upgrade both!


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

geko29 said:


> I suppose the 32GB might apply to hardcore gamers who otherwise fall into group 1 (who just need the space for more apps), but that's about all I can think of.


I'm not a "hardcore gamer" (in fact, I'm not a gamer at all, unless you count Where's My Water and Fruit Ninja as "gaming" , but 64GB would be too much for my needs and 16GB not enough. I keep some books and photos on my iPad, and I have a couple of magazine subscriptions on my iPad, which take up considerable space. My current usage is somewhere around 25GB. I personally would be unhappy if my only options were 16GB or 64GB.



mooshie78 said:


> On the otherhand, I went with a 16gb iPhone 4s, and wish I'd went 32gb there so I could put more of my music on it.


I also bought the 16GB iPhone 4S and wish I would have gone with 32GB for the same reason!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I've had a 64 gig iPad since the month after they were introduced. Even after two years, I have less than 32 gigs of stuff on it (only 43% full), which includes all my 150 CDs, all my 6,000 photographs taken over the past 15 years, fifty or so podcasts at any given time, and 182 apps. One of my apps is a database with 5,000 books in it, and another is a geocaching program with the info on over 4,000 caches in it. Also on there is a resident map of Texas with all the roads and bicycle trails on it (so I don't have to have a WiFi connection to use it).

I'd probably go ahead and still get the 64 gig iPad, but the 32 would almost certainly be adequate for my use.

Mike


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

I have the original, wifi 64gb iPad and it has been full since day 1. No, truthfully, it probably took me several months to fill it up, but I'm now at the point where I don't even have a single video, not even my favorite music videos, on my iPad because I need the room for apps and docs. I don't even have more than 1000 photos, and I'm a photographer! 

I do have tons of apps, though, and lots of them are big graphic ones the kids play. I have my favorite playlist, but no more than 200 songs. I also wish they offered something bigger than 64gb, I'd be all over it.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

My husband got the 64gb w/3G for his original iPad 1.  He ordered the new iPad last night.  Going in he was in the "better to have it and not need it" mode, then when he really looked at his usage he started waffling, and realized he probably wouldn't actually need it 64gb OR 3G. He looked at his current iPad 1 (which I'm inheriting) and ordered the 32gb wifi only.  We figured if we need 3G we've got mine, but we rarely do because we both have iPhones so we both have 3G there - we only turn on the 3G on the iPad if we're traveling, which sadly, we haven't done much recently.  The main thing he keeps on it is photos and some movies - he hadn't come close to using 64gb.  

So it all depends on your planned usage.    I don't need the 64gb either (I haven't come close to filling the 32gb on mine, which my daughter is inheriting).  But it'll be the "movie" iPad for us when we travel.


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## Buttercup (Oct 28, 2008)

Thanks so much everyone!  I think that if I do end up taking the plunge I'll just go with the 64g, it is only $100 for double the space so I suppose it's the smart move in the long run.  I'll probably end up putting way more on it than I think I will.


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## MagentaSunset (Oct 1, 2010)

_I have the 16 GB now and ordered the iPad 3 in that size as well. I don't keep a lot of content on my device. 16GB has worked well for me, so I stuck with it again. _


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## Buttercup (Oct 28, 2008)

I took the plunge and pre-ordered the 64g wifi/4g lte.  It'll be here on Friday   Now I have to figure out what case to get, not as easy as I thought.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Macworld had an article recently about the problem the "Retina" apps for the new iPad were going to cause. Apparently apps will end up much bigger to code the extra pixels and space will go faster. Even on older iPads as universal apps are updated

I'll see if I can find a link....

http://www.macworld.com/article/1165797/retina_display_ready_apps_and_the_coming_ipad_storage_crunch.html


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Interesting.  Though I'll be fine since I have tons of free space on my 32gb iPad 2.


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> Macworld had an article recently about the problem the "Retina" apps for the new iPad were going to cause. Apparently apps will end up much bigger to code the extra pixels and space will go faster. Even on older iPads as universal apps are updated
> 
> I'll see if I can find a link....
> 
> http://www.macworld.com/article/1165797/retina_display_ready_apps_and_the_coming_ipad_storage_crunch.html


That's a great article. I already have to delete stuff before I can update my iPad. It's going to be awful once the larger apps are in effect. I would certainly have gotten a larger model if they had offered one, my iPhone, too. I can't imagine why they didn't.


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## luvmykindle3 (Dec 5, 2010)

I considered downsizing to a 16 gb since I didn't fill up my 32 on my iPad1.  After I started downloading everything, I realized I needed to stick with 32, so I swapped them out. Better took much space than not enough.


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## Sean Patrick Fox (Dec 3, 2011)

If you don't see yourself replacing the iPad within a few years (newer model or whatever), I'd go for the 64 gig. Yeah it's more expensive, and you might regret it a little at first when you see all the free space you've got, but you'll end up using it. When I got an iPod Touch a few years ago I decided to get the 32g instead of the 64g. I figured I'd never use all that space, even with all the music I collect. Fast forward two years and my Touch was full and I had to start rotating my music. Not fun.


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## tomperrino (Mar 21, 2012)

I noticed that the 32 is faster than the 64, keep in mind if you need more space or speed


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

mooshie78 said:


> Depends on usage. I went with a 32gb iPad 2 and I haven't even come close to hitting 16gb as I don't put music or videos on it. Not really photos either as I seldom download anything from my iPhone's photostream. I mainly just use the iPad for reading PDFs, newspapers/magazines, internet/e-mail and random apps, so I didn't end up needing the extra space.
> 
> On the otherhand, I went with a 16gb iPhone 4s, and wish I'd went 32gb there so I could put more of my music on it.
> 
> Lesson learned for next time when I eventually upgrade both!


Glad I have the 32GB now. The increased app sizes with the updates for the new iPad took up a good chunk of room on my iPad 2. So I'm right around the 16GB mark now--with just apps and some PDFs on there.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

tomperrino said:


> I noticed that the 32 is faster than the 64, keep in mind if you need more space or speed


Sorry, I don't buy that. All six models within each connectivity option (wifi, ATT, VZW) have identical hardware, down to the actual spec of the flash chip. The ONLY difference between the 32 and 64GB models is the 32 has two 128Gbit flash modules, while the 64 has two 256Gbit modules. Access rate and transfer speed are identical.

Now of course, it will take longer to fill up the 64 than the 32, but that's purely a function of using the same hose to fill a pool that's twice as big. But the larger pool doesn't get burdened with a smaller hose.


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## RobertKindle (Nov 22, 2011)

geko29 said:


> I don't really see the point of the 32GB model. In my mind, most people will fall into one of two use cases:
> 
> 1. Use it for news, books, email, streaming content via Wi-Fi. 16GB is plenty, because there's little/no local content.
> 2. Content-heavy use away from Wi-Fi. Here you want to bring as much stuff with you as possible (movies, etc), so you want as much capacity as possible. 64GB is the clear choice here. There's a number of people in this group angry that there was no 128GB model.
> ...


I got to disagree somewhat. Light users who get News, email, stream content, etc may also just save their music and apps. While 16 GB may be enough in, it could simply get too close to being full for comfort. Adding a few dozen MP3s a month, saving digital news papers, ebooks, etc can all add up. While it isn't HD video realm of data usage the long accumulation of small data files could easily break 16 GB after a year or so without even realizing how much data they were using.


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## ayuryogini (Jan 3, 2010)

Buttercup said:


> I took the plunge and pre-ordered the 64g wifi/4g lte. It'll be here on Friday  Now I have to figure out what case to get, not as easy as I thought.


Check out the Vaja cases; I have the Libretto for my iPad 2, and I love it; when I get the new iPad, I will again clothe it in Vaja. They're beautiful.


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