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A purported 64GB iPhone prototype that appeared earlier this year.(Credit: M.I.C. Gadget)
Could Apple's next iPhone sport double the storage of the company's current models? That's the latest rumor, or at least the latest revival of it.
Citing the same anonymous source for alleged model numbers of new iPhones and iPods that entered Apple's retail inventory system earlier this week, 9to5mac says Apple's iPhone refresh will bring three models at differing storage capacities. That's as opposed to Apple's current lineup, which has a 16GB model and a 32GB model.
The outlet suggests that the third model will feature 64GB in storage, matching the storage options made available on the iPad since the first generation model.
There have been a few signs of Apple testing out higher capacity iPhone models that never made it to market. For instance, in March, China-focused technology blog M.I.C. Gadget said it had secured an "engineered prototype" of the iPhone 4 with 64GB of storage on board. The outlet posted photos of the device and said its production information suggested it was produced in the beginning of 2010, ahead of when the iPhone 4 was announced.
Adding to that, what appeared to be an early development version of the white iPhone 4 sporting 64GB of storage and what looked like a similarly pre-release version of iOS 4. That device popped up on Vietnamese site Tinhte this past April; that's the same outlet that got a hold of the iPhone 4 ahead of its official announcement.
One thing that remains clear is that Apple can fit 64GB of storage in that amount of space, as it's done on its iPod Touch models since the third-generation model in 2009. The interesting thing now is how much local storage plays a part of the iPhone's future. With iCloud likely launching alongside the next iPhone, Apple is helping users get away with less storage, storing files and application information on its servers, and letting users delete then re-download songs and videos when space is needed. It's far from a "cloud-based iPhone" where there's no storage at all, but it's the building block for such a possibility.
All that said, more storage is certainly an attractive feature to some folks, especially those who like to keep a lot of media on their device, as well as install large applications.
Apple holds its "Let's talk iPhone" event next Tuesday, where the company is expected to take the wraps off its next iPhone.
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