The iPhone is great in so many ways, but one aspect that fans still wish would change, even when it comes to the best iPhones, is the fact that storage is not updatable: once you choose the size, you can’t add any additional storage. There’s always iCloud, but who wants to spend that much money to offload storage to the cloud? There are also external storage accessories, but these aren’t convenient to bring with you everywhere. Plus, chances are that a large percentage of what you’re storing on your phone could easily be deleted: think multiple seasons of a show you downloaded from a streaming service and forgot about, apps you haven’t used since the early 2010s, a long string of group iMessage conversations that date back years, memes, screenshots, and food photos you no longer need, and more.
What’s more, to keep your phone running as efficiently as possible, you should periodically clean it up, removing apps that might be running in the background without your knowledge (or haven’t been updated in ages) and videos and photos that do nothing but use valuable space. The question is: how can you do this quickly and easily? There is indeed a way.
The first step you should consider before beginning the process is to back up the iPhone to an external storage device, like your computer or a portable external storage drive: you can easily back up an iPhone using finder or iTunes. Once you’re ready to clean out the phone, figure out what is taking up the most space and go from there. Review each section if needed, like messages, apps, and photos, and delete items as needed, either in batches, by ones that have been dormant for a lengthy period of time, and so on.
1. Select Settings and General.
2. Go to iPhone Storage.
3. It may take a few seconds to fully load, depending on how much you have on the phone. Once loaded, you’ll see a bar chart that breaks down what is taking up how much room, along with a line list for each section that you can review individually.
4. Select Review Downloaded Videos (if any) and remove ones you no longer need.
5. Select Review Large Attachments (if any) and remove the ones you no longer need.
6. Scroll down the list that follows to see how much storage each section is taking up and review each one individually from there.
7. For apps, look at the “last used” date and if it was more than a year ago, select the app and choose “Offload App,” which will remove it from the phone but keeps your data should you decide to reinstall it or Delete App to remove it entirely, including all your data associated with it.
Even the latest model iPhones, like the iPhone 14, do not include memory card slots for added local storage. And eventually, you will run out of room, no matter how much storage you have. If you download apps, snap photos and videos, communicate with others via iMessages, download videos for offline viewing, and use your phone as most people do, you’ll need a clean-out every now and then. This is important, it should be noted, not only for freeing up space but for the security, privacy, and efficiency of the device as well.
Apple iPhone 14
The iPhone 14 is the base model of the 2022 iPhone series, offering a balanced set of features for the average user.
