Buying a new phone over Black Friday? Don’t make this costly storage mistake

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Pay more now, save stress later

An iPhone 16 Pro showing its storage capacity.
(Image credit: Future)
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Picture the scene: you’re standing on the sidelines at your child’s soccer game, and they’re gearing up to take the winning penalty kick. You’ve framed up the shot nicely, hitting ‘record’ in preparation for their big moment, then disaster strikes: “iPhone Storage Full. You can free up space on this iPhone by managing your storage in Settings.” Cue expletive.

We’ve all been in similar situations before – I once received that dreaded message while interviewing an actor on a red carpet – and there’s no such thing as a good time to run out of phone storage, regardless of whether you use an iPhone or an Android phone.

So, if you’re in the market for a new phone over Black Friday, my one big piece of buying advice is to consider choosing a 256GB capacity model over the invariably cheaper 128GB model. And there are a few reasons why I say this.

Firstly, it's worth noting that you probably won’t realize the limits of a 128GB storage capacity until a couple of years into owning a new phone. You’ll be able to download and use all of your favorite social media apps, take over 1,000 photos, and even download some Netflix movies before your device starts warning you to take it easy.

But most people hold onto their phones for longer than two years, and it’s at the two- or three-year mark that the decision to choose the cheapest storage capacity will start to feel like a mistake.

iPhone 17 in green

The iPhone 17 ships with 256GB of storage as a minimum (Image credit: Future)

That’s because those aforementioned apps and photos are not the same apps and photos from 10 or even five years ago. As phone cameras have advanced, photos captured on them have got larger in size, and apps too have ballooned in size thanks to new features, higher-quality graphics, and more regular updates.

We’ve detailed why it feels like smartphone storage is disappearing at a faster rate in a separate article on TechRadar, but the bottom line is that certain app types have seen their storage demands increase by as much as 1,000% over the past 10 years.

Phone manufacturers know this. Apple scrapped its 64GB iPhone storage capacity from the iPhone 16e onwards, and it did the same with 128GB on the iPhone 17 line (so if you buy one of those newer models, you’ll get 256GB as standard). That alone should tell you that 128GB is a capacity that’s no longer fit for purpose.

Of course, there are ways to circumvent the problem of on-device storage. Features like Optimize iPhone Storage and cloud services like iCloud and Google One remove the need for masses of physical real estate, but they cost money to be used effectively, require an internet connection to function, and only apply to photos (no amount of iCloud storage will let you download four films for a long flight).

My advice, then, is to pay the premium for extra device storage at the point of purchase. Bite the bullet and go for a 256GB model where possible (512GB is overkill for most), and you won’t be left spending hundreds on additional cloud storage, or pulling your hair out at your child’s soccer game.

Don’t know where to look for good 256GB phone deals? Fear not. Black Friday sales have already begun, so below, I’ve rounded up a few great early deals on 256GB models.

Today's best 256GB phone deals in the US

Google Pixel 10
Google Pixel 10: was $899 now $699 at Amazon

The 256GB Google Pixel 10 is $200 off in this early Black Friday deal, which is a bigger discount than we'd normally expect to see from a recently-released flagship phone. While this link leads to a discount on the Frost color option, all of the Google Pixel 10 models are on sale at the same price, just listed on their own pages.

View Deal
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE: was $709.99 now $534.99 at Amazon

The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE takes everything great about the Galaxy S25, bumps the screen size up, trims the specs down, and slashes the price tag. At this discounted price, this 6.7-inch phone with 256GB of storage is a clear winner against several Android rivals, and stands up well against the iPhone 16e.

View Deal

Today's best 256GB phone deals in the UK

Google Pixel 10
Google Pixel 10: was £899 now £799 at Amazon

The 256GB Google Pixel 10 is £100 off in this early Black Friday deal, which is a bigger discount than we'd normally expect to see from a recently-released flagship phone. While this link leads to a discount on the Frost color option, all of the Google Pixel 10 models are on sale at the same price, just listed on their own pages.

View Deal
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE: was £699 now £499 at Amazon

The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE takes everything great about the Galaxy S25, bumps the screen size up, trims the specs down, and slashes the price tag. At this discounted price, this 6.7-inch phone with 256GB of storage is a clear winner against several Android rivals, and stands up well against the iPhone 16e.

View Deal

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Axel Metz
Axel Metz
Phones Editor

Axel is TechRadar's Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site's Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.

Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.

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