Apple doubles iPhone, iPod touch memory

The move by Apple is good news for flash market, which has come to ebb and flow on Apple's consumer-electronics launches.

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- Electronic News, 2/5/2008

Apple today announced added models to the iPhone and iPod touch lines, doubling the memory of the respective devices.

The move was predicted by some during Apple’s MacWorld event last month and is good news for flash makers, as both devices use NAND. Since its introduction of the iPhone last June, Apple has exerted strong influence over the NAND market, with some flash manufacturers scrambling to meet demand in 2007. Indeed, some analysts have predicted a 2008 uptick in NAND largely based on Apple’s use of the memory.

Until today, the high-end version of the touch included 16 GB of NAND, more than any product in the Apple iPod line, while the high-end iPhone came in at 8 GB of NAND.

The iPod touch will now be offered in a 32-GB model for $499, joining the 16-GB model for $399 and the 8-GB model for $299, while the iPhone will now come in a 16-GB model for $499, joining the 8-GB model for $399. Both of the expanded models are available immediately.

Apple’s iPhone was originally also offered in a 4-GB model. The company discontinued the 4-GB model in September 2007, just three months after launching the iPhone line. In its statement today, Apple gave no indication of plans to discontinue the lower-memory iPhone or touch models. 


Related stories

For teardown analysis of the 8-GB iPhone, see:
Inside Apple's iPhone: More than just a dial tone
Samsung, Infineon big players in iPhone  

For teardown analysis of the 8-GB iPod touch, see:
iSuppli tears down iPod touch, determines ‘touch is no iPhone clone’