iPhone 5 vs 5S Capacity

Question

Level 1

4 points

iPhone 5 vs 5S Capacity

Recently observed two differences in the storage capacities of my 5 and 5S. The following pictures speak for themselves:

This one is the screen shot of 5S

And the one following is from my iPhone 5:

if you notice the capacity, while both are 16gb versions, one has 12.8gb while the other has 13.2gb. While I know the difference of 16gb and 12.8/13.2gb is majorly on account of difference of measurement system (1000/1024 mb) and default apps taking some space, but what surprised me is the difference of 12.8 and 13.2 gb. Where have the additional 400mb lost?

Similarly, when connected to the iTunes, the "Others" of my 5S takes 1.3gb while the "Others" of 5 shows only 300 mb??

Both the phones are configured same and carry similar apps and settings.

It would be nice if someone can explain the reason for the above two difference in the capacity.

iPhone 5, iOS 7.0.3

Posted on Aug 15, 2014 4:16 AM

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Answer 1

ckuan

Level 10

120,686 points

Aug 15, 2014 4:23 AM in response to shikhar10882

iPhone 5s is a 64bit iPhone. (A7 chip)

Others can be corrupted data, configuration data, text messages, etc.

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Answer 2

shikhar10882 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 15, 2014 4:31 AM in response to ckuan

Thanks for the ^^^ reply!!!

While i understand the difference in the chip, (pardon my ignorance) but I fail to understand how would that change the "capacity" of the phone from 13.2gb to 12.8gb.

Also, while both the phones are configured similar, the reason for difference in storage space taken by "others" is beyond my understanding.

It would be nice if you would please explain it a little further!!!!

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Answer 3

ckuan

Level 10

120,686 points

Aug 15, 2014 4:38 AM in response to shikhar10882

Even both share the same IOS version, the 5s has more options e.g. the TouchID and the M7 chip, so the IOS is slightly larger (meaning taking more space).

As for "Others", it is the stuff that do not fit in the other categories (photos, music, etc) including crash logs, corrupted data, etc.

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Answer 4

shikhar10882 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 15, 2014 5:03 AM in response to ckuan

So is it to confirm that iPhone 5s shows 12.8gb as capacity???

of "others", i understand, as, as long as i always had about 1~1.3 gb in "others".

i checked my wife's phone and for the first time was surprised to see such a low utilization in "others"!!!

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Answer 5

ckuan

Level 10

120,686 points

Aug 15, 2014 5:17 AM in response to shikhar10882

No, you did not understand, I meant the IOS is larger on 5s compared to 5 because it has a different SOC to manage.

The "Others" has nothing to do with which iPhone you are using. It's the usage and crashes that causes this.

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Answer 6

shikhar10882 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 15, 2014 5:35 AM in response to ckuan

So… if I take the "others" away from the scope of our discussion for the time being, you'd say all is in order??? the 400 odd mb lesser reported by the 5s over 5 is to do with the difference is os & is perfectly normal...

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Answer 7

ckuan

Level 10

120,686 points

Aug 15, 2014 7:03 AM in response to shikhar10882

Yes.

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Answer 8

raymond73

Level 4

1,843 points

Aug 15, 2014 7:16 AM in response to shikhar10882

but I fail to understand how would that change the "capacity" of the phone from 13.2gb to 12.8gb.

Because many of the variables and addresses will now be 64 bits instead of 32 bits. That doubles the amount of space that such variables and addresses consume. That will make the OS larger and thus it will take more space.

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