Everyone who’s ever bought an Apple device has been there: You choose the iPhone, iPad, or Mac that you’re interested in, get into the right mindset to fork out for it, and then the shop assistant hits you with all the various upgrade options that increase the price significantly. The question is, are these additions really necessary, or are they just a way for Apple to make more money? In the past, extra storage was probably needed. But nowadays, users may be able to save some cash by turning to the cloud instead.
Apple Has Famously Charged More For Extra Storage
Apple is well-known for milking a bit more out of its customers when it comes to the various models of its devices on offer. Storage is a common matter of deliberation for users. Most people aren’t really sure how much they need, but they also fear being in a situation where they don’t have enough.
Let’s look at the latest iPad Air as an example. Users only have two choices when it comes to storage here. They can stick with the basic model for £579, which comes with 64GB, or they can spend £200 more to get the 256GB version. Users are faced with a dilemma. The range in sizes suggests that the higher-end model will be more than big enough, but it also makes it seem like the standard model is insufficient. They are also cleverly priced, because users are led to believe that the 256GB model is a better value based on how much storage you get for your money.
Nowadays You Can Rely On The Cloud
In the past, one of the main reasons for users needing extra storage was in order to download games. Mac gamers, in particular, needed a lot of space on their hard drives to be able to run games and save them. Mobile users also had to be careful with their gaming apps, as having too many would use up all the space available. Indeed, on the early editions of the iPhone that only had 4, 8, or 16 GB of storage, users often had to delete older apps to make way for new ones.
Times are changing, though, when it comes to having to download games to a device. Cloud-based gaming platforms are on the rise and could be the main way of playing in the years ahead, negating the need for built-in storage. This has already been seen for some time in the casino industry, where sites like William Hill Casino have vast lists of games that players can access instantly through their browser. They don’t need to download anything to be able to immediately play a range of slots and table games. Other forms of gaming are going down this route as well. Services like Apple Arcade and Google Stadia put users in touch with comprehensive libraries of games that can be played in the cloud.
Other Ways to Boost Storage
Going back to the iPad Air dilemma, users nowadays should be confident that they can buy the option with less storage thanks to the alternatives that they have at their disposal. The cloud can be used to save a number of things, from photos and videos to documents. There are also plenty of removable hard drives that can be used to back up files, in order to then delete them from the device to clear up space.
With cloud-based services rising in stature, it seems that Apple may soon make a lot less money on offering devices with higher storage capabilities. People don’t need as much memory on their devices these days and can use the cloud as a reliable backup.
