Now, we’re not here to compare the absolute prices since the phones are vastly different. What we’re going to focus on are the jumps between the different storage options. One thing that jumps out immediately is that the two other brands, Samsung and OnePlus, don’t even bother with offering 64GB versions of their flagship devices, just as it should be in 2019. That leaves us with two equal jumps we can take a look at. First, the iPhone 11’s jump from 128GB to 256GB would cost customers $100. Meanwhile, over at OnePlus, the upgrade costs just $30. That means Apple charges over three times more for the extra 128GB. And Apple’s storage isn’t some fancy superior version. In fact, the OnePlus 7 Pro comes with the latest UFS 3.0 super-fast storage, and you can’t get better than that. 

And second, going from 256 to 512GB of storage on the iPhone 11 Pro Max will cost you double what you’d pay for the same amount of extra storage on the Galaxy Note 10+. $200 is what Apple demands for the upgrade, while Samsung will be happy with just one Benjamin.

This means that the most expensive iPhone 11 Pro Max costs a whopping 31% more than the base version. $350 to upgrade a single part. You can buy a whole other smartphone for that money. Meanwhile, for the Note 10+, the $100 price increase is merely 9% of the cost of the base model.

It’s not news that companies are using larger storage options to increase their profit margins but the limit to which Apple is pushing it is just ridiculous. And while companies charge you a pretty penny for the extra storage, when the time comes for you to return their precious device, they pretend it’s all the same.

Storage is how companies make money. You don’t

Trade-in programs are a popular way for phone manufacturers to offer discounts on the latest products to customers that give back their old phones. Usually, the way it works is by having a fixed amount you get depending on the device you return, and the newer and more expensive the phone, the bigger the discount. But here’s the thing: the discount doesn’t change depending on which storage option you have. So no matter if you’ve paid $1,099 or $1,449 for your previous iPhone, you’re getting the same value for it when giving it back to Apple. The same goes for Samsung and other manufacturers as well. Suddenly, the flash memory chips that vary wildly in prices depending on their capacity are all worth the same.

So, if you’ve gone for a high storage option in the past, it makes a lot more sense to sell your phone on eBay or somewhere else (we have a guide on how to go about it) where you can get back at least some of the extra cost. Of course, the second-hand market will almost always give you more, even for the base version of a phone, but some people prefer to go for the hassle-free experience of trade-ins.

Overall, it turns out choosing which storage option to get is quite an important decision. Getting a phone with less storage could seriously hinder your experience in the long term, potentially forcing you to upgrade sooner than you’d hoped. Being tempted by the big numbers, however, could end up as a waste of money if you never make use of all the storage you have. Consider your needs and take into account your past experiences and you’ll surely make the right decision.