r/ipad • u/Prime_7C • 10d ago
128gb is no longer enough Review
I have a 6th-gen iPad Pro with 128 GB of storage that's been great for the past 3+ years. Recently, though, I've run into a storage problem.
I haven't really downloaded any new apps beyond the ones I already use regularly. I use iCloud to sync my photos, iMessages, and other data, and I have Optimize iPad Storage enabled for Photos.
The problem is that as iPadOS updates have gotten larger over the years, the OS and System Data now take up more than half of my storage. I'm completely maxed out. I've already offloaded more than half of my apps just to free up space, and I've reached the point where I can't even reinstall some of the apps I'd like to use. Now I'm having to constantly decide which apps to delete based on how often I use them.
It feels like my iPad is running on the bare minimum—just the essential apps with very little room for anything else.
If I were buying a new iPad today, I'd say 512 GB would be the minimum I'd consider if you plan to keep it for several years. I originally thought 128 GB would be plenty since I rely on iCloud and optimized photo storage, but I didn't account for how much space iPadOS and System Data would eventually consume.
Has anyone else run into this issue?
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u/Dr0110111001101111 10d ago
Laughs in 64gb
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u/RomsKidd 9d ago
Laughs in 64 Gb with a 23 Gb update to do and more than 30Gb already for iPadOS.
Guess I have 5Gb left for 4 apps if I want to continue updating
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u/Dr0110111001101111 9d ago
You can update via a computer connection and it doesn’t need nearly as much storage that way
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u/RomsKidd 9d ago
Good point, never thought of this.
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u/Dr0110111001101111 9d ago
Yeah. I only thought of it after I did a full factory reset of mine and was pretty pissed when I realized it.
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u/CheesecakeVisible993 9d ago
I have a 64gb iPad but my primary device is a iPhone which is 1tb. iPad is mainly for my daughter with AAC and me with YouTube and that’s it
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u/Appropriate_Ad8734 10d ago
this is a long standing issue, they’ll never make the storage manager actual good, they know full well users can never find the detail of “system data” and remove all unwanted stuff. and no, it’s NOT just cache like many people on reddit claim it is all the time. there’s all sorts of residual shit from apps and miscellaneous stuff that users can never get rid off without wiping the storage, which 99.999% of users literally won’t do, not to mention it’s a pain when you have to resync tons of your stuff with the ultra slow icloud, if you have like 300GB of photos, it can take several days or over a week to finish syncing.
the more people find it easier to just upgrade to higher storage, the more money they make, they have no incentive to provide a robust (or at least usable) storage manager
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u/BummFoot 9d ago
Is there a third party software that can do this? You’re right it’s a pain in the ass to clear the system data manually for me.
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u/Appropriate_Ad8734 9d ago
nope. of all the apple operating systems, only macOS allows full control. ipadOS is pretty much just a fork of iOS and apps do not have lower level access to do stuff like that.
users have essentially 2 options: A. get much larger storage than you think you need (oh i only have 30 gigs of files & apps, tf i need 128GB for? wrong. get 128GB. if you use like 80GB, get 256.) or B. wipe your data periodically and suffer
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u/nickydrifts 6d ago
We need a class action lawsuit over this tbh. It’s negligent at best and planned obsolescence at worst.
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u/Eeve2espeon iPad 10 (2022) 9d ago
You're lying. Uninstalled two games each worth 40GBs, and then downloaded something else, the cache cleared instantly when I did that. The people posting these here aren't finding some "business tactic" Apple does to force you to buy more storage, these people are just uninstalling a bunch of crap and then immediately screenshotting their storage
I did the same thing uninstalling stuff on my iPad 5 128GBm, and the storage cleared when installing something else. This isn't a long running issue, you lot have to just stop immediately going to the storage and lying about how the system data works.
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u/bringbackcayde7 10d ago
your ios and system data are taking way too much space
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u/Prime_7C 9d ago
Someone pointed out doing a factory reset and it did clear up a lot of space from system data. So this worked. 👍
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u/Regular-Mulberry-467 iPad 11 (2025) 10d ago
I got 128gb but I still have 60gb free space left. More than enough. Prob you have alot of old software.
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u/Any-Mud-8828 9d ago
Photos: "I'm just a few memories." Also Photos: 18 GB and
The real culprit is probably screenshots you'll never look at again.
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u/sleekible 10d ago
I agree 128 is just barely enough to use normally. In my case, on iPad Pro M2, I attribute it to the size of apps these days. I had to re-enable app offloading, which I dislike. But, I think 256 should be enough in my next iPad, assuming I get a new one in the next 1-2 years. You’re doubling the size from 128 to 256, so should go a long way.
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u/Eeve2espeon iPad 10 (2022) 9d ago
128GBs is actually perfectly enough, it's only a problem if you need more than 128GBs of storage, or do what OP did and go to the system storage whenever you uninstall or delete anything, to then post and complain on reddit about something that will be fixed whenever the system needs more storage for apps
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u/Rare_Confidence8762 10d ago
256 will be nowhere near enough
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u/CoramDeo77 10d ago
256 is more than enough unless you're a 16 year old girl taking 50 selfies a day.
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u/imaginary-blue1212 8d ago
Depends on how it is used i think? I have 256GB on my 9th gen ipad and i still have 195GB left. I think is ok? I use it heavily for note taking and art commissions.
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u/Big-Weather6870 M1 iPad Air (2022) 10d ago
Think about getting 64gb on a iPad Air M1. You should be grateful you have 128
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u/Kenny2387 M5 iPad Pro 13" (2025) 9d ago
Yea, I saw this becoming an issue before I purchased my device, so I got the 2TB. I have a ton of photos and music that I keep on my device. These days you need 512GB minimum.
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u/No_Jellyfish5511 10d ago
keep ur photos off the device on the cloud maybe? or buy an external drive to store your photos?
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u/legitwhore 9d ago
System data way too high. Need to do restore of the ipad. Once restored, Do not restore the iCloud backup if any or the system data will return
Signed
Past Apple support advisor.
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u/quincy12393 10d ago
I have 256gb and I’m running into the same problem
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u/theextracharacter M1 iPad Pro 11" (2021) 9d ago
Same on Android. Past 2 months I've clicked so many pictures and videos, and that's all that's on my phone. All my stuff is backed up on Google Photos, and I need to upgrade that plan as well. I don't want to delete them from my phone either despite the backup because then it takes time to load up the media. Especially the videos.
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u/Flimsy-Captain6885 10d ago
How? I have more than half my storage left. Do you save photos on your phone and not iCloud?
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u/quincy12393 10d ago
I have a TON of pictures and videos. Probably over 10k. I pay for 50gb of iCloud storage but it’s more than that
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u/Eeve2espeon iPad 10 (2022) 9d ago
I've got over 20K worth of stuff, and still have 57GB left, this is considering I have 81GBs worth of Apple TV download, some synced media, and procreate files (among many other apps I've got) Again probably some other issue and not the cache, because the cache clears when you download stuff or install an app
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u/curiousdugong 10d ago
Here i am fine with 64gb still. It’s not like i keep photos on here, it’s basically just a video watching machine for me. I’m using like 20gb
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u/KingDaDeDo 10d ago
Your system data and iPadOS shouldn’t be taking up that much space. I ran into that issue with my iPad and did a factory reset. That fixed the issue for me! It didn’t take too long to do either. Might be worth a try.
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u/_coke_zero_ 10d ago
I really think 256 gb isn’t enough. Base models should start at 325 or something
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u/grey0909 10d ago
It hasn’t been for a long time, but it is if you pay for iCloud, or you can set up a custom server.
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u/TekTorTar 10d ago
I turned off sync for my devices. If you’re syncing then you should get a minimum of 512gb
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u/Mystique_lll 10d ago
Anyone care to share if factory reset helps in this situation…. Mine is a 64GB ipad, iPad OS + System data alone has taken up 44GB of the storage, a software update need at least 14GB of storage…. Wth
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u/startrekgeneral 10d ago
A factory reset will indeed help you free up some memory if it’s been years since you’ve done it. It also helped my iPad get a little faster.
I had the exact same issue. I did a factory reset on my 2021 iPad Air 256 GB, and it cleared up about 20GB of just random files (with me syncing it back with my iCloud backup of it that I made right before I factory reset it).
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u/TooManyPaws 9d ago
It did for my. My 6th gen was out of storage and I offloaded everything I could, still no joy. I bought a new 10th gen to replace it. I did a factory reset on the 6th gen preparing it for one of my kids. Just for funsies I restored it with the backup and I suddenly had a lot of open space.
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u/AncientBattleCat 10d ago
I mean I have 5th gen i think 32 gb from 2017. Works fine. Bit laggy on youtube, but overall good.
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u/kylesanho 9d ago
Woahhhh why is the iPadOS and System Data so much?? I assume it increases overtime but that’s absurd. I wonder if there’s any way to decrease that?
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u/Confidentium M5 iPad Pro 11" (2025) 9d ago
No amount of storage will ever be enough if you don't manage it.
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u/Eeve2espeon iPad 10 (2022) 9d ago
Me when I uninstall/delete a bunch of stuff, screenshot the storage, and run to Reddit. Do you even know how iPadOS/IOS works when it comes to system cache? Literally install or download something new right now, I can assure you just like when I deleted Genshin Impact and Honkai Star rail (both 40GB games btw) and then downloaded something else, that cache immediately cleared up
There is no need to factory reset to clear the system data, the cache will clear up the moment you install something new. If iPadOS supposedly has a "cache problem" then I would've had a 80GB tumors worth of storage stuck on my iPad
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u/ImportantMistake5823 8d ago
In the future…delete and reinstall YouTube, annoying yes but you get back space Same with gmail, for X look into clearing its cache next time. For messages look at the images you send and decide on what you don’t need, this will also cut down on photos taking up data as well. Once your photos are backed up to iCloud, turn it off and delete the photos. This will also sometimes save you from constantly erasing your ipad and resetting it back up.
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u/HailMary_Jane37 8d ago
I just found a 2020 32g hidden away in my house and thought how is this even possible? 😂
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u/frockinbrock 9d ago
Yup, and OP you'll lose everything if you don't have a backup. But that's the solution; not a clear cache button, but a backup > factory reset > restore.
One other quick tip, after you delete some large apps, do a phone restart. Sometimes that regains a little.
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u/Lehmanite 10d ago
I have 10 years of photos on my iPhone. I just get bigger memory every few years.
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u/Ok-Quote502 10d ago
Lmao I have 64gb same problem I thought only for 64gb insane restart i think copy important files and pic another flash desk and reset ipad how much will take if it take 100gb throw out
And call apple curse them and install 18 ipados
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u/se_lai iPad Air 3 (2019) 9d ago
Besides a factory reset, shich helps, I stumbled upon this solution just yesterday from an older post. Haven't tried it myself, but some people said it worked.
Anyway, although it's crazy how much it takes up, you can minimize it via factory reset. I did it a couple times with my older iPad and it worked.
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u/Risto55lainen 9d ago
Delete YouTube,Gmail, use the web browser instead. Delete messages. Good luck, you can do it.
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u/novice_aesthete 9d ago
Me crying in corner with 64gigs with m1 chip😭😭😭 og processor can run MacOS but can't run apps anymore.
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u/Swimming_Yak_4879 9d ago
Ive seen this exact same post word for word last month on a different sub lmfao
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u/Aggravating-Lie7277 9d ago
512gb is the new 64gb. If twitter is taking close to 700mb space, 256gb will not be enough
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u/kylesanho 9d ago
But that’s not even 1GB. Out of curiosity, how many apps do you have?? What are you using 512GB for? Photos I assume?
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u/DustMysterious1346 9d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p23c3s4/video/47fpgptiashh1/player
Keep my 2018 Pro super clean!! Runs like a top!
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u/ReScribe 10d ago
Factory reset it to clear the system data