16GB or 32GB? Please help. Can't decide!!

[polo_marco]

Hello everyone

I am finally in a position to buy a Nexus 5 but I can't make my mind up as to what model I should buy. The costs of the 16GB & 32GB are ?309 and ?349 respectively. I can afford it, but for some reason I'm plagued with indecision! This would be my first proper high-end smartphone that I would be buying for myself rather than with help from my parents. I'm not sure what my habits would be like since my current phone is pretty low spec'd (167MB internal storage) so I haven't really been able to enjoy the range of apps and is running old Gingerbread. I don't know what is making it so hard lol. I don't really want to make a bad choice since it's my first GOOD phone and it is absolutely amazing haha. Not too sure what to do. Have any of you felt this before?

If you guys could kindly assist me in making my decision more easier I would really appreciate it! No idea why I'm stressing so badly haha. I hate spending so many days over-thinking things like this! I guess since we can't see into the future, it's hard to be sure

Thanks guys!!!!

 

[davidnc]

Hello everyone

I am finally in a position to buy a Nexus 5 but I can't make my mind up as to what model I should buy. The costs of the 16GB & 32GB are ?309 and ?349 respectively. I can afford it, but for some reason I'm plagued with indecision! This would be my first proper high-end smartphone that I would be buying for myself rather than with help from my parents. I'm not sure what my habits would be like since my current phone is pretty low spec'd (167MB internal storage) so I haven't really been able to enjoy the range of apps and is running old Gingerbread. I don't know what is making it so hard lol. I don't really want to make a bad choice since it's my first GOOD phone and it is absolutely amazing haha. Not too sure what to do. Have any of you felt this before?

If you guys could kindly assist me in making my decision more easier I would really appreciate it! No idea why I'm stressing so badly haha. I hate spending so many days over-thinking things like this! I guess since we can't see into the future, it's hard to be sure

Thanks guys!!!!

Well as you mentioned that you can afford either model of that phone.If it was I making that decision . I would go with the 32 gb version .

 

[isdaako]

Welcome to the site.
There is no bad decision to be made with either storage size. Considering the information you've provided; I'd suggest the 16 gig version. Use the money saved there to get a nice case for it.

 

[Robbie317]

Hello everyone

I am finally in a position to buy a Nexus 5 but I can't make my mind up as to what model I should buy. The costs of the 16GB & 32GB are ?309 and ?349 respectively. I can afford it, but for some reason I'm plagued with indecision! This would be my first proper high-end smartphone that I would be buying for myself rather than with help from my parents. I'm not sure what my habits would be like since my current phone is pretty low spec'd (167MB internal storage) so I haven't really been able to enjoy the range of apps and is running old Gingerbread. I don't know what is making it so hard lol. I don't really want to make a bad choice since it's my first GOOD phone and it is absolutely amazing haha. Not too sure what to do. Have any of you felt this before?

If you guys could kindly assist me in making my decision more easier I would really appreciate it! No idea why I'm stressing so badly haha. I hate spending so many days over-thinking things like this! I guess since we can't see into the future, it's hard to be sure

Thanks guys!!!!

For just an extra 50 I went ahead and got the 32 "Just in case" I could probably easily survive on 16 but it wasn't a dramatic difference in price so I just went with the bigger storage....

If the extra 50 is no big deal to your wallet then make the jump to the 32....

 

[jj14x]

I'll second (third?) what @Robbie317 and @DavidNC said - if you can afford it, go for the 32gb. That way, you won't have to worry about running low on storage space (well, let me rephrase that - you'll worry less about running low on storage space). Load up a couple of large games - a couple of gigs gone there. If you root and store your nandroid backups on the device, that's another couple of of gigs gone. If you store Music/video on the device, that's another 3-4 gigs gone (or more), and so on

 

[N4Newbie]

I previously had a 16GB Nexus 4 and often bumped up against the limit even though I didn't have any videos at all stored on the device and a small'ish amount of music.

I went with the 32GB Nexus 5 and am happy with the decision.

 

[thepurpleturtle]

You should wait for the one plus one. Just saying.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Jeremy8000]

When the N4 came out, with 8GB and 16GB options, it was a solid bet to pick up the 16GB. The OS took up a substantial portion of the former, really limiting its functionality. But the OS hasn't grown much in size to where the 16GB is suffering anything akin to the cramped condition of the 8GB, and the 32GB model, for most, just provides leeway for onboard storage of more games/movies (note you can still keep a good amount on the 16GB). It's kind of like an apartment/home -- the larger the one you buy, the more crap you'll end up filling it up with.

In your situation, going from a very base phone, you'll be delighted with either N5 edition. If you get the 16GB and find yourself later wishing you had purchased the 32GB, take some comfort in the fact that if you'd purchased the 32GB you'd almost certainly find yourself wishing you'd had the option of a 64GB. And... you can always get yourself a USB OTG stick (what I like about this one is it has USB3.0 on one side, MicroUSB on the other - and comes in 16, 32, and 64GB flavors) that offers a lot more versatility, and that you can carry with you forward with your next upgrade, for a fraction of the price if you do find you need more storage.

 

[Spencerdl]

Welcome to Android Central. "it's better to have and not need, than to need and not have".....I suggest (like everyone else) go with the 32gb....ENJOY

 

[Igneel]

I'll go for 32gb, I got 32gb and no regrets

 

[Golfdriver97]

Welcome to the forums.
I will echo what started with davidnc, and everyone else. Get the 32 if you can afford it. I know ofr a fact I can get by on just 16, but I have to be careful. My M8 is 32 and I am more at liberty to throw whatever I want on the device.

 

[Robbie317]

You should wait for the one plus one. Just saying.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I'd second this... Depends on his carrier and if he wants a 5.5 inch phone.... I want to try it out but not sure if I'll like the larger footprint...

 

[JeffDenver]

Hello everyone

I am finally in a position to buy a Nexus 5 but I can't make my mind up as to what model I should buy. The costs of the 16GB & 32GB are ?309 and ?349 respectively. I can afford it

Then the answer is get the 32 gig one.

It is always a bad idea to get less than the most memory possible on any phone without SD. Even if you do not need it immediately you might 6 months or a year from now, and it is something you can't upgrade later. If you are at all unsure, you should get the phone with the higher memory.

If I had gotten the 16 gig Nexus 5 I would have regretted it. I am using about 28 gigs at the moment. This is especially true if you are going to be taking video with it.

 

[JeffDenver]

When the N4 came out, with 8GB and 16GB options, it was a solid bet to pick up the 16GB. The OS took up a substantial portion of the former, really limiting its functionality. But the OS hasn't grown much in size to where the 16GB is suffering anything akin to the cramped condition of the 8GB, and the 32GB model, for most, just provides leeway for onboard storage of more games/movies (note you can still keep a good amount on the 16GB). It's kind of like an apartment/home -- the larger the one you buy, the more crap you'll end up filling it up with.

I still have my Nexus 4. And the 16 gigs of storage was a constant annoyance the entire time I used it. I really hated not having SD on that phone. Getting my 32 gig Nexus 5 was like finally being able to breath again.

Even 32 gigs is just barely acceptable to me. If they'd had a 64 gig version I would have bought it.

 

[Jeremy8000]

One can always find a use for space, no matter how much one is given. So for the purpose of made-up statistics, 2 in 3 people might need 16GB over 8GB... 1 in 3 might need 32GB over 16GB... but 0 in 3 will ever complain about having too much storage.

The question is, what specifically creates the need for 32GB over 16GB? It's certainly a luxury and a benefit, but I have yet to come across any specific thing you cannot do on the 16GB that you can on the 32GB (besides storing another ~16GB...). If it's just a matter of having a larger library of movies, games, etc, then it's a value proposition wherein the OP needs to weigh the convenience of having to hit the cloud / USB-OTG less often versus the extra ?40 expense. It's not a great deal of money, but I suspect OP felt it was enough to warrant the question.

 

[lattemaker]

I would say to go for the 32GB. It will future proof the phone and it will increase the value of the phone if you go to sell it when you want a new phone. I switch phones a lot and I always try to get the one with the most memory. It really helps in resell value.

 

[polo_marco]

Wow thank you for all of your responses. This is really a helpful forum By the looks of it, it would seem that 32GB would be the way to go?

But I think what is making it hard for me to decide is the feeling of the money being "wasted" in a sense, if I didn't utilise the space even though I can afford it (weird, right?). I guess since I've never really been a guy who tends to spend extravagantly, being away at university and all, it's definitely an unfamiliar feeling for sure; it's the only thing stopping me from pressing "Place Order"

 

[Golfdriver97]

Wow thank you for all of your responses. This is really a helpful forum By the looks of it, it would seem that 32GB would be the way to go?

But I think what is making it hard for me to decide is the feeling of the money being "wasted" in a sense, if I didn't utilise the space even though I can afford it (weird, right?). I guess since I've never really been a guy who tends to spend extravagantly, being away at university and all, it's definitely an unfamiliar feeling for sure; it's the only thing stopping me from pressing "Place Order"

To echo an earlier comment: It's better to have it and not need it than the other way around. Really you can look at it this way: Of the 32 GB about 3.xxGB is taken up by the OS. Let's call it 4 for easier math. That leaves you with 28 GB of storage for you. Even if you want to have say 10 GB of music, that leaves you with 18 for apps and other data. With the 16, you have 12 before filling it with anything.

I guess the best question is: How fast can the 12 GB remaining of the 16 GB version will fill up for you? If you think it will get filled quickly, then get the 32. If you are not entirely sure, get the 32. If you are reasonably certain you can get by with the 16, get that.

My suggestion still stands at the 32 no matter what.

 

[JeffDenver]

I think what is making it hard for me to decide is the feeling of the money being "wasted" in a sense, if I didn't utilise the space even though I can afford it (weird, right?).

Then think of it as $50 worth of insurance. You are insuring against the possibility of needing the space later, because it is not something you can upgrade on the phone.

It'll add to the resale value as well. There are people out there buying used phones who will not even consider a lower memory model. The only reason not to get the 32 gig one is if price is an issue.

Keep in mind as you phone's storage gets full it will impact performance. If you have 16 gigs available and it has 15.5gigs of stuff on it, you will notice a performance hit. Seen this on my BF's Galaxy S3.

 

[Jeremy8000]

Wow thank you for all of your responses. This is really a helpful forum By the looks of it, it would seem that 32GB would be the way to go?

But I think what is making it hard for me to decide is the feeling of the money being "wasted" in a sense, if I didn't utilise the space even though I can afford it (weird, right?). I guess since I've never really been a guy who tends to spend extravagantly, being away at university and all, it's definitely an unfamiliar feeling for sure; it's the only thing stopping me from pressing "Place Order"

If you can afford it, you'll never regret buying the larger capacity; the question is whether you might or might not end up regret buying the smaller. You're basically paying 15% more for that reassurance. If you don't mind occasionally shuffling data on and off the phone (just how many movies / 100's of albums / games do you feel are sufficient to have on board?) or possibly popping in a USB stick to substantially increase data availability (regardless of which model you choose) to keep that money in your pocket, go with the 16GB. The 32GB actually gives about 133% more actual storage, so it is a good value - if you will actually benefit from and make use of it.