iPhone Q&A

Revision Published March 14, 2023

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The default internal storage in all of these models cannot be upgraded beyond the amount that was installed at the time of purchase.

External iPhone Storage Solutions

For those who would like to add storage to their iPhone, but not resort to cloud storage, it also is straightforward to add an external storage drive to modern iPhone models via the Lightning Port (on all iPhone 5 and newer models). This external storage can be used to hold photos and videos.

Best Lightning External iPhone Storage

Two of the best external storage options for Lightning-equipped iPhone models are the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Go and SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe.

Photo Credit: SanDisk (Go - Left; Luxe - Right)

These two devices are similar; effectively "USB sticks" with the option of 64 GB, 128 GB, or 256 GB of storage and ports on both ends. Each device has a Lightning port on one end -- so they can be connected to an iPhone -- and a USB-A port or USB-C port on the other end -- for the Go and Luxe, respectively -- so that they can be connected to an older computer equipped with USB-A ports or a newer one with USB-C ports.

iPhone Storage Summary

Of course, Apple would love for you to buy a new iPhone when you run out of storage space, and if your iPhone is a few years old already, maybe that is the best choice for you.

However, by using one of these external storage solutions, you also have the option of squeezing a bit more life out of your iPhone until you decide to upgrade for reasons of performance or features rather than just storage space alone.

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