The 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro from Apple currently starts at 7999 Chinese Yuan for the minimum 128GB storage, while its 6.7-inch sibling, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, comes with a minimum of 256GB storage priced at 9999 Chinese Yuan.
However, according to a post by LeaksApplePro on Twitter, Apple might bump up the base storage of the upcoming iPhone 16 Pro to 256GB to match the minimum capacity of the larger iPhone 16 Pro Max, all while keeping the starting price of the Pro models unchanged — a commendable upgrade without a price hike, indeed!
If Apple ditches the 128GB option for the iPhone 16 Pro, the entire Pro lineup would offer three storage options: 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
It's worth noting that back in 2018, Apple's iPhone X started with a base storage of 64GB, a tier that persisted across subsequent generations until the iPhone 13 in 2021 introduced 128GB as the new baseline. If Apple adopts 256GB as the new minimum capacity for its high-end devices, it could suggest a pattern of doubling the minimum capacity every three years.
On the other hand, a rumor from Korea earlier this January suggested that both iPhone 16 Pro models would offer double the maximum storage capacity of the iPhone 15 Pro models, increasing from 1TB to 2TB.
The increase in maximum storage capacity is purportedly due to Apple's shift to higher-density quad-level cell (QLC) NAND flash memory to accommodate the demands of higher storage models. Apple's use of QLC NAND allows for more storage in a smaller space and is more cost-effective compared to the triple-level cell (TLC) NAND currently used in iPhones.
Rumors also suggest that this year's iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will feature larger display sizes, increasing to 6.27 inches and 6.86 inches, respectively. In comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max come with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays, respectively. The new display sizes would make them the largest iPhones ever and are likely to increase the physical space for internal components and parts.
