16GB Samsung Galaxy S4 only has 8.84GB of user-accessible storage

Ever wonder why a Samsung flagship always has enough room for a microSD card, even with 16GB of space on board? Well, a look at the internal storage of the Galaxy S4 should make things clear. Samsung's base Galaxy S4 model is advertised to come with 16GB of storage, but a look at the Storage section of the Settings on a brand new Galaxy S4 reveals only 8.82GB is available to the user, according to Geek. 

That’s the total space available to users for installing apps and games, while the rest of the space is taken up by the OS and pre-loaded apps. In this case, that means Samsung’s own TouchWiz UI and apps like Samsung Hub and ChatOn, which are pre-installed on the phone.

Users of the Samsung Galaxy S4 can only access 8.84GB out of the 16GB internal storage

Having nearly half the memory taken up by the manufacturer’s software means that users are getting short-changed when they think they have bought a phone with 16GB of storage space. The wise thing to do then would be to get either the 32GB version or the 64GB model of the Galaxy S4. However, Indian fans of the smartphone will have to look to either the grey market or abroad for models with higher capacity, as only the 16GB version has been launched in India, as Samsung said during the launch. 

The HTC One, which is currently the S4’s main rival, lists 7.14GB as taken up by the Taiwanese company’s software. But because only a 32GB version of the One is currently available, the situation is still a lot better than the S4. At this rate, customers will be almost compelled to opt for a microSD card when buying the Samsung Galaxy S4 because of the lack of internal memory. 

Thankfully, the Galaxy S4’s microSD card slot supports cards up to 64GB in size, so if you can’t get your hands on a 32GB or 64GB version of the phone, best spend that extra money on a microSD card slot.