In recent years, many Android users have been surprised to find that their phones’ memory space is shrinking much faster than expected. Although the first suspicion usually falls on photos and videos, The real reason is usually hidden, works almost imperceptibly: the increase in size applications.
Conventional perception shows that the main problem for the phone’s internal memory is the number of stored images or multimedia files. However, the reality is different. Once the user has finished transferring all their apps from the old phone to the new phonethe impact on storage can be surprising.
This phenomenon is characteristic not only for those who use the telephone as the main work tool. Although the presence of office suites and image editors can make a difference, these programs do not take up the most space. in fact, The most “voracious” apps tend to be the ones that seem innocuous and are present on most devices.
Checking the memory used reveals smart home apps like Dreame (for robot vacuum cleaners), which can consume up to 700MB, or Ecovacs with 400MB. While two programs of this type are not common, there are many others that are often used with a similar size.
Among financial apps, PayPal can exceed half a gigabyte, while Chase and TurboTax are around 300MB each. Adding just these three puts us over one gigabyte of memory. The trend is repeated with other money management apps, with GEICO’s insurance app approaching 200MB, eBay’s merchant app surpassing that mark, and Payoneer not far behind.
Programs for communication and work are also surprising. Slack is over 500MB and Discord, even if it’s barely used, can be close to 300MB. In the smart home space, Lockly’s app is several hundred megabytes, while Anker’s for portable powerhouses is around 300MB. SwitchBot is over half a gigabyte in size, while SmartThings takes up 1.4GB on the phone.
The above doesn’t include streaming apps like Netflix or Disney+, which can consume a few extra gigabytes when downloading a video. It also doesn’t include apps for audiobooks and podcasts, whose content can easily add up to 5GB. Of course, the most popular mobile games can take up several gigabytes, matching the console titles in storage.
By adding space for programs and the operating system, the margin for other files is significantly reduced. On a 128GB phone, after reserving about 17GB for the system and 80GB for apps, there’s barely 30GB left for everything else. That doesn’t even include photos, downloads, or temporary files.
A litter box can also spoil things. In some cases, it stores up to 43 GB of deleted files, which can be permanently deleted, but demonstrate how easily internal storage can become full.
Also, image editing features, such as the ability to revert changes to Samsung Gallery, require saving previous versions of files. This type of hidden files can be around 9 GB.
To avoid a lack of space, the main recommendation is to choose phones with a larger factory capacity. While many brands’ base models, such as the Pixel 10, still offer 128GBto access 256GB or more, you need to pay up to US$100.
However, these costs can be justified if you consider the number of applications that a user usually installs and the speed at which memory fills up.
Recent generations of smartphones are beginning to recognize this need. Both the iPhone 17 and the Samsung Galaxy S26 have increased the minimum storage to 256GB. Surprisingly, some mid-range phones already offer more memory than premium models to attract the attention of those looking for better value for money.
In addition, it is useful to perform regular maintenance: remove unused programs, regularly clean the garbage and view temporary files. It may also be a good idea to use cloud services for photos and documents so they don’t clutter up your device’s internal memory.
