Amount of Storage Your iPad Really Need

Last updated on April 27th, 2023 at 07:39 pm

Customers typically look at the base and higher versions, which cost more and offer more storage space, when purchasing a new phone or iPad.

As an iPad currently costs a hefty penny and nobody wants to spend more money than is necessary, now is a good moment to consider whether 64GB is adequate for an iPad.

Do you even intend to use that much room? Let’s get started with the list of things you should think about before you make the decision that we’ve put together!

Table of Contents

Does the iPad Need 64GB?

If you’re still a resident of the early 2000s, 64GB sounds like a lot of storage. But literally, everything since then has changed,

Including how much data we use every day, how many pictures we take, the apps we use, and the data we retain on our smartphones, as well as the multimedia on the websites we visit.

Today’s smartphones need a lot more storage space because of all these variables.

Having said that, there are circumstances in which picking an iPad with a larger memory space may be necessary.

Let’s examine these circumstances, starting with the user type.

Class of user

An iPad with a 1TB drive is not necessary for someone who only uses it occasionally for YouTube videos or casual browsing. But, many users require that and even more!

Let’s examine the use case in the following samples.

Photographers

Camera pros, whether they are filmmakers or photographers, are the ones that comprehend the necessity for storage capacity the most.

Let’s get right to it: 64GB will never be enough for a photographer, even an amateur one. While most filmmakers may not use an iPad as their primary editing device, many photographers do.

This is due to the fact that even photos taken with an iPhone are quite huge, and the majority of photographers utilize DSLR or mirrorless cameras.

To give you some context, a RAW file taken on a basic 16MP camera will be 16 MB in size. These cameras output RAW photographs. In professional shootings, the RAW photos might be between 25 and 40 MB in size.

Hence, if you’re looking to buy an iPad to edit photos on, we suggest looking at the 1TB or 2TB iPad Pro versions.

This is due to the fact that in addition to storing photographs, your apps will also have several more features, presets, and plugins that will use up storage space.

You may get away with the 1TB model, which has enough storage for around 120 hours of HD camera footage if you decide to also decide to edit recordings.

Graphic Designers

Although they might not require as much storage as camera operators, graphic artists nonetheless come quite close.

Stock images, PNG files, brush presets, plugins, and other resources are available to artists in a variety of formats.

Typically, graphic designers experiment with editing programs and apps (like Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator), which demand greater storage space.

A thorough sketch or painting with several layers created using an app like Procreate can be 300–400 MB in size.

You might manage with the 512GB iPad Pro, though we advise the 1TB model. Designers tend to save anything they find online, so anything less would mean having storage concerns within a few months!

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People on the Move or Travelers

There is no way that a 64GB hard disk will be adequate if you must work while traveling and intend to use an iPad as your primary business computer.

Even though you might not require a lot of storage, a business computer can soon get overcrowded with emails, photographs, papers, presentations, attachments, and other types of professional software.

We anticipate that you will be able to get by with a 256GB iPad model. You won’t need to go as high as 1TB or even 512GB.

Be aware that this situation changes if you work with large files, in which case you should choose a greater space option.

Remember that you’ll need to spend money on a keyboard with a touchpad or a keyboard and mouse combination. Check out our article on the top iPad keyboards for more information.

Streamers and Downloaders of movies

Even if you’re a die-hard movie fan and intend to use your iPad as a media player, you should still play it safe and choose an iPad with at least 128GB of memory specifications.

This is due to a number of factors, including the fact that we no longer accept 720p resolution and instead want high-definition HD or 4K content.
Second, if your connection is patchy, the majority of video apps let you download things offline.
Lastly, creating a movie library on your hard drive makes a lot of sense if you ever decide to travel in order to make the lengthy waits at airports and the lengthy flights more tolerable.

We believe that with 128GB, you will have enough room to save all of your documents, images, programs, and large video files.

Gamers

If you enjoy playing video games, we advise choosing the 256GB variant as the 64GB iPad won’t be adequate for your needs.

The filesize of modern games can easily exceed two gigabytes, and the downloadable material can be two to three times that.

You will quickly run out of room if you add all the games you want to play, save for later, and attempt, along with a big list of favorites that you will keep forever.

You can download all the games you want to play on a 256GB iPad and still have room on your hard drive for the extra game data.

Typical users

Who is the typical user? The antithesis of a super user, who uses his iPad constantly for everything from business to downloading and viewing lots of movies, is an average user.

Once or twice a day, the average user will open their iPad and watch a few videos, perhaps send a few emails, browse Apple Home, or cast to their Apple TV device via AirPlay.

64GB is the ideal storage size for these people. There is no need to get an iPad with high memory requirements if you don’t intend to shoot a lot of videos or spend the entire day doodling.

You can still download all the apps you want, play games, take pictures, and more with 64GB. The 64GB iPad should work just fine for you as long as you don’t get carried away with any activities.

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Potential Needs

. Games were formerly 300–500MB in size, but as of late, the average iPad game can easily weigh in at 1–2 GB.

But there’s more! Remember that software updates are getting bigger and bigger, which means that your operating system is using more space to protect you from security threats and enhance your iPad experience.

Hence, if you presently own a 64GB iPad and notice that it is lagging or slowing down, check the storage specifications. If you decide to purchase a new iPad, you should definitely choose a larger model.

64GB for iPad: Local Storage vs. Cloud Storage

Purchasing online storage or using external devices to store your information are two solutions to the storage conundrum.

Keep in mind that these solutions are best if you rarely need to view your files while working, such as in the case of a designer or photographer who requires their files to be on a unified memory.

Let’s examine the advantages and disadvantages of these choices.

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In-Place Storage

You can purchase a variety of external drives to use with your iPad, and you can access them by using the Files app. SD cards can also be used to store data. You will require one of the following adapters, depending on what you use and which iPad model you purchase:

USB to Lightning Adaptor
SD Card Reader via USB-C
USB 3.0 to Lightning Adaptor
SD Card Reader with Lightning.

There are a few things to bear in mind, including the fact that you must use a Mac or PC and cannot format your card or drive using an iPad. Moreover, your USB drive can only have one data partition, and only the FAT, FAT32, exFAT (FAT64), and APFS file types are supported.

You must use a powered drive to connect an external hard disk to an iPad because the iPad’s output is insufficient. A powered hub or dock is another option.

Pros:

You don’t need to download files from the cloud in order to access them right away.
As your files are not in the cloud, they are secure, which is good if your material is sensitive.
More disks can be purchased if needs grow.
A lot of information can be rapidly shared with friends or coworkers for utilization.

Cons:

Your data may be lost if your hard drive fails.
There are additional wires and a power supply, and the disk must be carried with you wherever you go.
The files are stored locally, making it difficult to share or collaborate with other office employees.
Hard drives are not exactly affordable.

Online Storage

Many people benefit from cloud storage, especially now that working remotely is prevalent and using a cloud platform by different teams is commonplace.

Although extremely practical, can cloud storage make financial sense for a single user? Let’s examine the benefits and drawbacks!

Pros:

Cloud storage is reasonably priced, and you may select packages based on your needs. All you have to do is increase your storage plan when you need additional space.
Because you can access your data from anywhere in the globe as long as you have a reliable internet connection, cloud storage is highly practical.
Given that server backups and redundancy are in place, the likelihood of you losing all of your data is quite minimal.
With cloud storage, collaboration with friends and coworkers is simpler.

Cons:

All work comes to a standstill if you don’t have an internet connection because you can’t access cloud storage.
It can be challenging to move all the files with the current hierarchy if you choose to change your cloud service provider for whatever reason.
Although data loss is uncommon, it has occurred and is out of your control.
Even with a strong broadband connection, downloading different files takes longer than keeping them locally.

Recommendation

In light of the benefits and drawbacks of both local and cloud-based storage, we advise selecting a hybrid architecture. It’s better to utilize a local hard disk if you frequently access your files.

Also, you may get a basic cloud service and schedule regular file backups, such as at the end of the day after you’re finished working, to ensure that you don’t lose that data.

The only drawback is that you might have to wait a while to retrieve files, but if you must pick just one, we advise going with cloud storage because the likelihood of data loss is much lower.

However, with enough preparation, this problem can be avoided!