Pictured: SanDisk's 256GB storage option for Apple's 'iPhone 7 Plus'
We've reported before that Apple's “iPhone 7 Plus” could ship with a 256GB flash storage option, and now new images purportedly evidencing SanDisk's super-size flash chip have hit the Web. Does this mean Apple’s next-generation handset is going to have more storage than ever before?
Bigger on the outside (and on the inside)
The news comes from HDBlog (via MacRumors) and includes an image of SanDisk's 256GB chip; the publication suggests that this, as rumored, could be “appropriate for the next-generation smartphone.”
Take a look:
Apple has, as the publication adds, used SanDisk chips in its iPhone 5, 6, and 6 Plus models. SanDisk has also “managed to reduce the size of its 256GB flash memory chip to be smaller than its 64GB counterpart,” and as such the larger storage option now seems to be more of a reality than ever before (indeed, Apple's next-generation Plus-sized handset is also expected to be thinner and lighter than its predecessors, made possible in part by removing the headphone jack).
Of course, the key question is whether Apple's iPhone 7 Plus will remain available in a low-end 16GB configuration. This seems more bizarre than ever, especially given the prospective availability of a 256GB model. Yet software enhancements, including “app thinning” and the advent of cloud-based services, mean local storage is becoming less and less precious.
As usual, we'll keep you posted with further information as we receive it.
