Xed

Camera35 said:

Zirlin, very funny...idiot

It was funny. You think he's an idiot, why?

On one hand I agree. On the other, Jim Cramer said to buy Apple.

ItsWatchingEveryone said:

I perceive there have been more than the usually number of problems with 14.x generally.  Contrary to the past 13 years of using Mac, I've held to the previous OS (13.6.4).

I don’t know if that’s the case since every major OS and point update will cause an issue for someone, but for me Sonoma has caused biggest upset in my workflow that I can recall. For me, it’s Automator no longer being able to create working applications. I can run them effectively from the workflow in Automator and still use Apps I’ve created, but if I edit them and then export them as an application there is something broken.

aross99 said:

128GB feels like it is a usable MINIMUM for the vast majority of people.  The 5GB iCloud backup limit is ridiculous but it's been short since they had 32GB iPhones.

Buying more iCloud space is the smarter way to go.  With over 17,000 photos in my library and a 100GB iCloud photo library, my phone is a 128GB model and has 64G free.

200GB of iCloud storage is $3/mo. or $36/year.  upgrading to 256GB is $100, which addresses the local storage but not the backup issue.  3Y of iCloud 200GB is about the same price, and gives you both the storage AND the backup.

Buy more iCloud space, not more phone storage - especially if you upgrade your phone more than once every 3Y.

That said, I don't shoot much video, so if you are shooting alot of 4K video, this may not work for you, but them I would say you aren't a typical user of the 128GB or even 256GB phone.

1) “Usable minimum” is better way to state what is likely best for a specific person. When helping people decide what to buy I look at what they use now and make sure I have a reasonable amount of room to grow with the OS growth, app growth, additional apps, and higher general usage for increased photos and videos as better devices tend to encourage additional usage. This has been especially true over the decades with WinPC users switching to Macs. I usually hear something like “I don’t need much because I hardly use my WinPC as it is,” but when you get a Mac with no crapware slowing you down and that is easier to use you will likely use it more often.

2a) I feel that Apple’s free tier of 5 GiB of iCloud storage going for 15(?) years now, is ridiculously cheap on their part. To their (minor) credit, they do give you a free allotment of temporary space if you're using it to back up to move to a new device. Of course, that does usually mean you've purchased another iPhone so it makes sense for them from a financial standpoint to make upgrading to a new iPhone as easy as possible.

2b) I don't like Apple iCloud pricing tiers so I keep my expenses to a minimum by only having my iPhone on iCloud which I pay 99¢ per month for the 50 GiB tier. Then each month I will plug my iPhone into my Mac — which isn't tied to iCloud for Photos — and transfer the photos to my Mac. I then delete from my iPhone the ones I don't want to keep on there (which is most of them) and then clean up and label the photos for the month. This allows me to save a couple bucks per month and keep my photos more organized on my Mac, which is also backed up to a Time Machine NAS.

Don’t conflate “lots” with “enough for your needs”. It’s a term that holds no meaning or guarantee from a legal standpoint.