That can lead to camera rolls and photo albums in the double or triple GB digits.Ĭan't take a photo? Use Optimize Storage to free up space on your iPhone Photos & videos: Recent iPhones have 12-megapixel, 4K video cameras on the back. Apple has made iOS and iPadOS smaller and more storage efficient over the years, but it still takes up to 5 GB of space right off the top. Operating system: The first big bite out of your of iPhone or iPad storage is iOS itself. Here's some of what takes up your storage space: Here's how! What's taking up all your storage space?Ħ4 GB isn't a lot anymore but even 512 GB might not be enough, depending on how you use your iPhone or iPad. The solution is twofold: enable storage-saving features and delete anything you no longer need. It means you can't take the photo or video you want to take, download the app or game you want to download or do anything that adds any significant amount of data at all. Whether you have a 64 GB or a 512 GB iPhone or iPad, running out of storage sucks.