Industry sources told Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes that the iPhone 7/7 Plus (no, there won’t be a third ‘Pro’ tier) will feature up to 256 gigabytes of storage, effectively doubling the current top-of-the-line 128GB storage tier. The 256GB iPhone 7 tier was previously reported by Chinese-language MyDrivers, research firm TrendForce and PocketNow.
Unnamed supply chain sources told DigiTimes that major flash memory makers—including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix—have all increased chip prices in anticipation of strong demand for new smartphones, “particularly the iPhone 7 featuring up to 256GB of storage.”
Prices will keep soaring until the fourth quarter of 2016 and could start falling in the first quarter of 2017 “if sales of the new iPhone disappoint,” said the sources.
“Apple’s purchases remain critical to the overall consumption of NAND flash,” as per DigiTimes’ industry sources. The 16-gigabyte iPhone tier has been widely panned by the press, fans and analysts.
Recently, Google released an up-to-the-point commercial for its Photos service that pokes fun of Apple’s decision to continue shipping 16GB devices in this day and age.
Source: DigiTimes