With more and more apps, photos, videos, and other media being stored on iPads, many users wonder if 64GB of storage is enough. The answer depends on how you plan to use your iPad.
Quick Answer
For most casual iPad users who primarily stream media, use a few key apps, and store some photos, 64GB should be sufficient. Power users or those who store lots of media locally may want to consider more storage.
How Much Storage Do You Need?
When considering whether 64GB is enough iPad storage for your needs, there are a few factors to take into account:
- Apps – The average app takes up 30-100MB of space. So unless you plan to download hundreds, app storage impact should be minor.
- Photos – High resolution photos take up 1-4MB each on average. A few hundred full resolution photos will quickly eat up gigs of space.
- Videos – Video takes up a lot of storage. Just a few minutes of 4K video can be 1GB+. Storing movies locally takes up huge amounts of space.
- Music – Streaming music from Apple Music, Spotify, etc takes up almost no space. Storing albums locally takes up many GBs depending on length and audio quality.
- Documents – Text documents take up almost no space. But PDFs, presentations, spreadsheets and other documents with images can each be multiple MBs.
- Backups – iTunes backups of iPads can be over 10GB each. Keeping multiple backups takes significant storage.
- Cached Content – iPadOS automatically caches content from frequently used apps, web pages, etc. This cache can grow to multiple GBs over time.
Adding up storage needs for your apps, photos, videos, music, documents and other files will give you a good idea of the minimum capacity you need. For many casual users, the included files and cached content on a 64GB iPad will not exceed 20-30GB total. But for power users with large media collections, 64GB can easily be filled up.
Managing Storage
If you do opt for a 64GB iPad there are ways to maximize available storage:
- Stream music/videos instead of storing media locally
- Use cloud storage services like iCloud, Dropbox, etc to store files
- Remove unused apps and media you no longer need
- Turn on iPad storage optimization to automatically remove unused cache files
- Store photos/videos on an external SD card using a Lightning to SD adapter
- Use a wireless external SSD to expand available storage
Enforcing limits on which apps can use cellular data and deleting apps you no longer need can prevent storage from filling up quickly.
Which iPad Models Have 64GB Storage?
Currently the following iPad models offer 64GB storage configurations:
| iPad Model | 64GB Configurations |
|---|---|
| iPad mini | WiFi only, WiFi + Cellular |
| iPad Air | WiFi only, WiFi + Cellular |
| 10.2″ iPad | WiFi only, WiFi + Cellular |
| iPad Pro 11″ | WiFi only, WiFi + Cellular |
| iPad Pro 12.9″ | WiFi only, WiFi + Cellular |
The 64GB storage option provides a good balance of capacity versus price for many buyers. It is the baseline storage configuration for the standard iPad and iPad mini. While the iPad Pros offer up to 2TB configurations for power users, 64GB is sufficient for many.
Should You Pay for More Storage?
Apple charges a premium for increased storage capacities on iPads. Going from 64GB to 256GB typically adds $150-200 to the price. Further upgrades to 512GB or 1TB increase the price several hundred dollars more.
Here are some factors to consider when debating paying more for an upgraded storage configuration:
- Do you have a need for storing lots of apps, photos, videos, music etc? Power users may find 256GB or more is necessary.
- Is your media mostly streamed rather than stored locally? 64GB is probably fine for streaming.
- Do you use your iPad for work? More storage may be needed for large documents and files.
- Are you keeping the iPad a long time? Your storage needs may increase over years of use.
- Can you use cloud storage or external drives instead? Expandable storage via cloud or external SSD may be cheaper than built-in iPad storage upgrades.
- Is your budget flexible? Upgrading storage adds significantly to the iPad’s cost.
For many average users, 64GB is sufficient for an iPad. But power users who store lots of apps, photos, videos and files may want to invest in 256GB or more.
Tips for Managing 64GB of Storage
Here are some tips for optimizing and maximizing a 64GB iPad:
- Offload unused apps: Delete old apps you no longer use to free up space.
- Review photos/videos: Offload images and videos you no longer need to cloud storage.
- Stream music/video: Use Apple Music, Netflix or other streaming services instead of storing media files locally.
- Automate backups: Use iTunes or iCloud to backup your iPad, but then delete old backups you no longer need.
- Expand with cloud: Use iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Drive if you need more than 64GB of storage.
- Add external storage: Use a Lightning-attached SD card or SSD drive for additional storage.
- Monitor usage: Check Settings > General > iPad Storage to see what’s taking up space.
Following these tips will help you free up gigabytes of space. With some storage optimization, 64GB should be workable for most.
Conclusion
The majority of iPad users will likely get by just fine with 64GB of storage. Power users and those with large local media libraries may want to consider larger capacities or external storage options. Following some best practices around removing unneeded apps/files, streaming media, and using cloud storage allows even 64GB iPads to be usable for years before hitting capacity limits. With the right storage optimization, 64GB provides an ideal balance of price, performance and capacity for most iPad users.
