Apple gave the standard iPhone 17 a big storage upgrade over its predecessor. The phone now starts at 256GB instead of 128GB, but you don’t have to pay the extra $100 the upgrade would have cost last year. Every iPhone 17 model and the iPhone Air start at 256GB of storage this year, which is a big win for consumers. As with the base iPhone 17, buyers don’t have to pay extra, as the 256GB tiers cost the same as last year’s 128GB iPhones. The $999 256GB iPhone Air doesn’t have a predecessor, but it has the same price as the $999 iPhone 16 Plus.
However, The Mac Observer relays a discovery from China concerning the performance of the 256GB storage tier compared to 512GB (and higher) variants. According to YouTuber DirectorFeng, the 256GB storage models feature slower flash memory than the higher storage options for all three iPhone 17 models. The iPhone Air seems to be the only exception, as Apple is apparently using the same high-speed storage in the 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB options.
Storage speed is not something we routinely see tested in reviews or teardowns that follow the official launch of a new iPhone. But DirectorFeng claims the 256GB iPhone 17 variants score between 90,000 and 100,000 points in AnTuTu storage benchmarks. Comparatively, the 512GB and 1TB flash storage chips reach scores of around 150,000 points. The 2TB storage tier, exclusive to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, has not been tested.
The real storage bottleneck iPhone buyers should be worried about concerns the USB-C port. As we have explained, the standard iPhone 17 and the iPhone Air support USB 2.0 speeds, capped at 480Mb/s (60MB/s). The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max transfer data at USB 3.0 speeds, or up to 10Gb/s (1,250 MB/s).
Is slower storage speed a problem?
The YouTuber doesn’t provide the actual storage speed of each of these flash chips, but screenshots he posted on YouTube shows high read and write speeds for the 256GB storage chip. Buyers who purchased 256GB versions of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max shouldn’t worry about performance issues. The phones feature Apple’s latest chips, the A19 and A19 Pro, which are paired with 8GB and 12GB of memory, respectively. As reviews have shown, the new iPhone 17 models are faster than their predecessors. They didn’t tackle the performance of the storage chips because most smartphone reviews don’t do that.
The 256GB iPhone 17 achieves 1,653.2MB/s and 1,749.3MB/s in sequential read and write speeds in AnTuTu tests (screenshot above). That’s almost as fast as a portable SSD like the Samsung T9, which reaches up to 2,000MB/s read and write speeds. The 256GB iPhone Air scores significantly higher in the same test: 3,246.7MB/s and 4,195.5MB/s (screenshot below). That’s faster than an M3 MacBook Air (2,880 MB/s and 2108 MB/s read and write speeds).
The YouTuber notes that the lower-speed flash storage will still be present if an iPhone 17 user upgrades the storage to 512GB or higher. He’s likely referring to storage replacements that involve disassembling the iPhone, removing the preinstalled storage, and replacing it with a higher-capacity chip. Apple doesn’t support that kind of upgrade, and most repair shops will not offer it.
