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One of the biggest complain folks had when the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 launched was the lack of higher-capacity options. It was a valid complaint considering some of these devices are advertised as having 16GB, yet only nearly half of that is inaccessible. Said devices have microSD card slots, sure, but that added space can’t be used to install apps anymore (unless you’re rooted, and even then it isn’t recommended).
It looks like AT&T is the first to want to solve this problem with Samsung’s latest handset, though, as it has announced the arrival of a 32GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S4. This edition comes at a bit of a premium of $50 more than the 16GB, meaning your total cost before tax will be $249.99. That might be steep considering the cost of flash memory these days, but if you really want it then you’ll probably pay for it.
This probably doesn’t bode well for those who opted for the 16GB Galaxy S4 for the sake of having the phone on launch day. We’ve asked AT&T about any possible trade-in opportunities for those folks. In the meantime, if you’re up for an upgrade or a new smartphone and the Galaxy S4 is on your radar you can give the 32GB option a shot starting May 10th.
$250 for 32gb sounds like a good deal, considering the 16gb Sprint GS4 is priced at $250.
hopefully not another at&t exclusive like the 64GB HTC One. that would suck for the customers.
This is samsung not htc!
Due to the ability to expand storage, this is a non-issue for the folks who paid for the 16gb model. The customer would have to pay for the additional storage either way.
Not for those who are worried about app storage. As someone who recently hit his limit on storage from apps and games installed, 16GB (when only about 9.5 of that is accessible) is not a non-issue.
100% right. Since you can’t install apps on SD via the unrooted stock OS, and considering that out of the box the 16GB GS4 only has about 8GB of free space, this WILL be an issue for some people as that means they only have 8GB of space available for apps.
Docs and media can be stored on SD, but not apps.
@Quentyn Kennemer
GS4 having external sd is infintely better than having, what, 1 more internal gig for the 16 gig HTC one? Can we start thinking logically…
There is no 16GB HTC One… only 32GB and the AT&T 64GB.
Can we start posting logically?
Not sure what you mean by “external”, as you can only access the GS4 sd slot after removing the back cover. Also the new HTC One doesn’t make a 16GB version, they start off at 32GB.
I agree that adding 1 measly GB wouldn’t accomplish anything. Having the option of expandable memory is better then not having it, not disagreeing there. But this is one area where the HTC One wins out, they have 32GB vs the current 16GB GS4, and thus the HTC One can support installation of more apps and games.
Inability to install apps and games on sd card is an Android restriction, not a Samsung one, and has been around for awhile I believe. Hence the reason why no Nexus device has an sd slot. Only way around it is to root your device and/or install a custom ROM (which aren’t options for everyone).
There is no 16gb HTC one. 32gb and 64gb only.
1 more gig? No we want way more than 1 more gig. SD cards don’t run apps anymore, can we start thinking logically?
hey stop playing games on your phone and get back to work … oh wait, that is part of your work. lucky bastad.
Sucks to be an early adopter doesn’t it?
just gotta say that Samsung bloated this thing up hardcore. our ROMs are coming in at around 1gig. that is huge in comparison to the new CM10.1 for T-Mob S4’s that’s not even 200mb. 16gig will work for me for now but next time around i’ll be waiting for a 32gb. it should be industry standard, even if there is expandable memory. really no excuse.
Well, to be fair, you should another ~100MB to CM’s 200MB to account for the gapps you also need to install. Still, 300MB is 3X better than TouchWhiz’s bloat.
1. Why do you have so many apps?
2. If you download a lot of apps why would you buy a phone with only 16gb of storage?
3. Why not just root your phone and get an sd card if you want more space to install apps?
I’ve long since hit my limit on my 16GB SGS3, and have taken to using a TitaniumBackup workaround which is basically this:
1) apply an “archive” label to any large app or game that I don’t use at least daily.
2) back up everything
3) uninstall everything with the “archive” label, then invert the filter to only show non-archived apps for regular backups.
When I want something back, I just restore it + data from the TiBu archives on my 64GB sdcard instead of reinstalling from Google Play
Except the whole inability to add more onboard storage which is the only type of storage you can run apps off of now. So yea, its an issue for anyone who uses more than 8gb of space on their phone.
SD cards suck. So it is an issue.
Sprint deserves to lose customers over their pricing of the S4!!!
I don’t know who was responsible for the pricing of the Sprint model, but it is moronic to charge $50 more then every other carrier. Makes no sense whatsoever. Unless they figure people will suck it up and pay the price anyway because they want the phone so bad. Personally I’m going to wait until Amazon/Best Buy or someone has it priced at $200 before I pounce. Best Buy will price match Amazon, but even they have it for $220 right now
This will be exactly 14 days from release date of the 16GB, which is the day I got mine. Now I have to decide whether to switch or not. I already use a 64GB MicroSDXC so I’m not sure I need a 32gb phone…
You should be fine unless you see that your 16GB is almost full already with apps and games (since you can’t install those on your SD card, unless you are rooted).
If you think you might need more space, you might want to be cognizant of the date. I believe Best Buy for example changed their return policy on phones to only 15 days (used to be 30 days). So if you wanted more space, and the 32GB version comes out 14 days after you got yours, that only leaves you with perhaps 1-2 days to exchange.
Yea, I try to keep big apps and games off of the phone just because I can’t use more than one or two at a time. I’ll probably stay 16.
Come on, T-Mobile, you can one up them… get the 64 GB PLEASE!
Hmm 32 GB sounds like a battery drain, especially when i’ve been looking for portable battery backup solutions for my Samsung Galaxy S4s all over the place. got any suggestions? I would ideally like my S4 to last me 3 days straight for long weekend roadtrips.. something like these: http://bit.ly/aH4IQ1
totally happy with a rooted 16GB. I’m not one to keep crap around I don’t use.
Get in! I may as well wait for the SIM free 32GB version here in UK. My order (16GB version) was cancelled from ASDA (Walmart in UK).
This is good news. I wasn’t going to wait, but now that some first appearances are happening… might as well.
Finally a semi respectable storage size. Still irritating that Samsung makes a 64gb version but getting it in the US is next to impossible unless you want to pay full price for an unlocked version from over seas.