How to Find Out if an iPhone 4 Is 8GB or 16GB
By Dan Stone
You can determine if an iPhone 4 has 8GB, 16GB or 32GB of storage by checking its capacity in the "Settings" menu. Unlike some previous versions of the iPhone, the iPhone 4 does not clearly label its storage capacity on the backside of the device. Checking the iPhone 4's capacity without referencing the serial number requires powering on the device, but iOS doesn't make any effort to conceal the device's used, available and total storage space.
Step 1
Turn on the iPhone and go to the Home screen.
Step 2
Tap the "Settings" icon.
Step 3
Select the "General" section from the third options cluster.
Step 4
Tap the "About" option found at the top of the "General" settings menu.
Step 5
Scroll down the list and look for the "Capacity" section.
Step 6
Check the number to the right of "Capacity." If the number is less than 8GB, the phone is a 8GB model. If the capacity is greater than 8GB and less than 16GB it is a 16GB model. If the capacity is larger than 16GB the iPhone 4 is a 32GB model.
References
- iMore: Daily Tip: How to Check Available Storage on Your iPhone or iPod
- OS X Daily: Find Out How Much Storage Space Photos Take Up on iPhone
- Forbes: How Do I Correctly Identify My iPhone So I Can Sell It?
- Apple Support: How OS X and iOS Report Storage Capacity
- GSM Arena: Apple iPhone 4
- Seagate Support: Why Does My Hard Drive Report Less Capacity than Indicated on the Drive's Label?
Tips
- The storage capacity will be less than the device's advertised capacity because it accounts for the iOS files. The iOS files are necessary for the operating system to work on the phone. Depending on the version, iOS will take up an increasing amount of space. For example, an 8GB iPhone may list its available storage at 6.5GB because the iOS because the iOS files take up approximately 1.5GB of the phone's memory.
- With some other devices, the capacity discrepancy of about seven percent between advertised space and actual space comes from how storage capacity is quantified; however, this is not the case for Apple devices. Digital device storage is measured in two systems: "base 10" and "base 2". The base 10 system counts data units in groups of 1000 before changing to the next size measurement, whereas the base 2 system uses 1024 before changing to the next size measurement. The base 10 method is used to advertise storage capacity because it's closer to how people count numbers and gives a larger number; however, many devices use the base 2 system once the storage device is installed. Apple's Mac OS X and iOS both report internal storage devices using the base 10 system.
- The "About" menu also lists how much of the iPhone's storage is free under the "Available" heading that's next to "Capacity." You can find a more detailed rundown about what's filling up the iPhone 4's storage by selecting the "Usage" option from the "General" settings menu instead of "About." The "Usage" menu displays how much storage space is available, how much storage space is used and what types of files and apps are using the storage space. The iPhone's capacity can also be calculated from this menu by adding the "Available" and "Used" storage space together.
Writer Bio
Dan Stone started writing professionally in 2006, specializing in education, technology and music. He is a web developer for a communications company and previously worked in television. Stone received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and a Master of Arts in communication studies from Northern Illinois University.