Pictures from China recently emerged, supposedly showing a 32-GB version of the recently released iPhone 6, causing fans to wonder if a 32-GB version is on the way.
When Apple announced the configurations of the recently released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, buyers were disappointed that there was no 32-GB version available, and that Apple decided to stick with 16 GB in its lowest-capacity device, even though the larger storage capacities were 64 GB and 128 GB.
Many felt the move was a cynical one on Apple's part, and they criticized the company for realizing that most users who would have settled for 32 GB would not be satisfied with 16 GB and would instead opt to buy the more expensive 64-GB model, which is priced at $100 more than the 16-GB capacity. That take seems justified, as the 64-GB model is by far the most popular storage configuration on the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, accounting for up to 70 percent of demand for the new devices, according to the retail availability tracker iStockNow we recently reported on.
Recent pictures, however, gave hope to those who were looking for a 32-GB version. A Chinese website first featured a photo of an iPhone 6 Plus device that clearly indicated 32 GB of storage space, sending rumors swirling that Apple had actually manufactured a device in that configuration for the region, and fueling hope among consumers that it would eventually make its way to the U.S. and other regions as well.
Unfortunately, it seems that hope is unfounded. Further investigation showed that the photos are most likely authentic, but while some iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices appear to have 32 GB of storage space, they are actually 64-GB models whose drives are divided in half and are specially configured for display in Apple stores. The drive division is specifically intended to allow Apple store employees to do a quick system restore on the devices without erasing demo content.
So, with demand seeing no signs of a slowdown and still running higher than supply, it doesn't appear that Apple will be making a 32-GB version of either the iPhone 6 or the iPhone 6 Plus in the near future, and probably not at all.
