• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

As U.S. Treasury intervened in the bond market, the Netherlands rushed 86 tons of gold out of America because of ‘geopolitical unrest’

2

He failed the military pilot eye test—so he built a $1 million-a-day traffic company and bought flying lessons. Now he’s Top Gun’s stunt pilot 

3

Despite being a multimillionaire, Suze Orman still cooks at home whenever possible—and says eating out is one of the biggest wastes of money

1

As U.S. Treasury intervened in the bond market, the Netherlands rushed 86 tons of gold out of America because of ‘geopolitical unrest’

2

He failed the military pilot eye test—so he built a $1 million-a-day traffic company and bought flying lessons. Now he’s Top Gun’s stunt pilot 

3

Despite being a multimillionaire, Suze Orman still cooks at home whenever possible—and says eating out is one of the biggest wastes of money

What’s eating the gigabytes in Samsung’s 16 GB Galaxy S4?

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 23, 2014, 7:24 PM ET
Google source logo
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

FORTUNE — No 16 GB smartphone on the market actually delivers 16 GB of usable storage, but some come closer than others.

Of the eight models evaluated by the British product-testing charity Which?, Apple (AAPL)‘s iPhone 5C scored the highest with 12.6 GB (79%) of free memory.

The worst: Samsung’s Galaxy S4, with only 8.56 GB (53.5%).

Where did the other 46.5% go? Which?’s John Barrow thinks he knows:

“Many manufacturers further stuff their phone with pre-loaded apps, skins and bloatware. And no phone has more piping, braiding and frills than the Samsung Galaxy S4.

“Running on Android, Samsung has heavily customised the S4 with their Touchwiz interface. This includes many of Samsung’s own features but, while it looks pretty and grabs headlines, most of the stuff is next to useless. Eye tracking technology that pauses video when you look away from the screen sounds attractive but in reality it works badly, gulps down your battery and monopolises your internal storage.”

On the plus side for Samsung, the Galaxy comes with a Micro SD slot for adding more memory as needed. The iPhone does not; with Apple, what you buy is what you get.

LINK: Phone storage compared – Samsung S4 still in last place

About the Author
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Google source logo
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in


Most Popular

Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

    Latest in


    Most Popular

    © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
    FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.