Samsung Galaxy S4: Up To Half Of Internal Storage Taken Up With Pre-Installed Apps

Oops: 16GB Galaxy S4 Only Has 8GB Of Usable Storage

Samsung has become the latest mobile phone maker to become embroiled in a long-running debate about on-board storage.

The base model of its just-released Galaxy S4 phone comes with an advertised 16GB of storage - but less than 8GB of free memory.

As with other devices, much of the storage is taken up with pre-installed software, graphics and apps.

But the S4 marks a new record for the practice, with more than half of the base model's space being unusable out of the box.

According to T3, competing phones make better use of their space. The HTC One uses about 1GB less than the S4, while the iPhone 5 uses about half as much - closer to 4GB.

The lower ratio of free space to advertised memory is down to Samsung's exclusive software features, which include face tracking for 'smart' scrolling of web pages, and a series of its own note-taking, calendar and email apps.

Those apps and features can't be uninstalled, meaning that you're stuck if you want to free up space.

The phone also comes with a slot for a Micro SD card, allowing its storage to be upgraded by up to 64GB for around £50.

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