Buy an iPhone with more storage

Your current iPhone cannot be upgraded

This is worth stating plainly before you start researching: there is no way to add storage to an iPhone you already own. There is no memory card slot on any model, and the flash memory is soldered to the logic board rather than fitted as a replaceable module. Apple does not offer a capacity upgrade as a service.

An external drive over USB-C or Lightning is genuinely useful — you can copy videos off the phone through the Files app and then delete the originals. But it is a transfer tool, not extra room: Photos and your apps still only see the internal storage.

Sizing the next one

The mistake is buying for today's library rather than for the life of the phone. Work it out from your own history instead, because your camera habits are the only reliable predictor:

1. Check what you have actually used

   Settings → General → iPhone Storage shows the total consumed. Note the figure and how long the phone has been in service.

2. Turn that into a rate

   Used storage divided by years of ownership gives you a rough annual growth figure. Someone who filled 200 GB in three years is adding something like 65 GB a year, and that rate tends to rise rather than fall as cameras record at higher resolutions.

3. Multiply by how long you keep a phone

   Take your annual figure, multiply by the years you expect to keep the next device, then add what you are carrying over today and roughly 15 GB for iOS itself. Round up to the next tier available.

The uncomfortable arithmetic: if a given tier filled up in three years, the next tier up — usually double the capacity — buys you roughly another three years, not a permanent fix.

Cheaper shapes of the same answer

• Last year's model at a higher capacity. Frequently costs less than this year's model at the smallest tier, and the storage is what is actually hurting you.
• Refurbished, direct from Apple. Comes with a warranty and a new battery, at a lower price than new, and the capacity choice is the same.
• Trade in the old phone. Worth doing, but wipe it only after the new one is fully set up and verified.

What this does and does not solve