I have an 8GB Nexus 4 and have no problems with space. I have had a couple of full length movies and downloaded some Spotify tracks on extreme quality and still had room. I do not install apps to fill space, only the ones I use quite often.
Feels like when I got my 1st gen iPhone, it also was 8GB and just managed what I put on it. I purposely tried to fill this phone but it was with things I just installed or loaded to do so, not because I needed them there.
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