iPhone 16 Pro 2TB could be cheaper than expected, but there’s a catch

A new leak suggests an iPhone 16 Pro with 2TB of storage isn't farfetched from happening. According to a DigiTimes report, Apple is considering adding Quad-Level Cell (QLC) NAND flash memory in large-capacity 1TB iPhone models.

With that, the company would use the Triple-Level Cell (TLC) NAND flash for lower storage, such as 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, while higher storage (1TB and possibly 2TB) would use this other technology.

The benefit of QCL is reducing production costs by offering more storage in less space. However, adopting this technology means Apple would offer slower data write speeds than those at a lower capacity. With that, an iPhone 15 Pro Max with 1TB would have faster writing/reading speeds than the iPhone 16 Pro with 1TB of storage, for example.

In addition, the QLC NAND Flash is less reliable than TLC as it has reduced endurance for writing data since it can store more information in less space.

Although this might sound like a downgrade, you shouldn't worry that much. The performance difference is little. For example, the QLC flash storage offers write speeds of 550MB/s, while the TLC option can hit between 450MB/s and 500MB/s.

This difference would be more evident in a workstation computer as it would be concerning in editing videos, programming, etc., but not on a smartphone. With this change, Apple could offer a cheaper 1TB and even a higher-storage version without burdening the user with a $2,000 iPhone.

Despite that, rumors about the iPhone 16 Pro highlight the future larger display, 48MP ultra-wide lens, better battery, and an improved A18 Pro chip, likely to heat less with a better overall performance.

The iPhone 16 Pro is still several months ahead of us. We expect to learn more about its future capabilities when Apple announces iOS 18 during the WWDC. Reports say AI features will be the focus of this year's Worldwide Developers Conference.