When choosing a new phone, the amount of internal storage space is often one of several key factors which influences the decision to buy one phone over another. But exactly how much of the promised 16, 32 or 64GB is actually available to use varies greatly between devices. There was plenty of heated discussion surrounding the 16GB version of the Galaxy S4 when it was discovered that as much as 8GB of that figure was already used up by the OS and other pre-installed applications (sometimes called Bloatware). So should that phone be sold as an 8GB device? Or is it fair for manufacturers to assume that users understand that 16GB means the amount before any system software is installed?
nternal Versus External Memory
When considering the memory specifications of any phone, it is important to understand the difference between internal and external (or expandable) memory. Internal memory is the manufacturer-installed storage space, usually 16, 32 or 64GB, where the operating system, pre-installed apps and other system software is installed. The total amount of internal storage cannot be increased or decreased by the user, so if your phone has only 16GB of internal storage and no expansion slot, this is all the storage space you will ever have. And remember, some of this will already be used up by the system software.
Read more about: Understanding Smartphone Storage
