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TechQuiet 3d · day 3

Apple Watch Series 12, Ultra 4 may contain double their advertised storage

A Chinese researcher claims the devices pack 128GB NAND chips despite official 64GB ratings, raising questions about why Apple would limit capacity.

newest coverage 2d agosummary written 2d ago4 pieces5 likes & upvotes MastodonNewswiresHacker News

What to know

  • Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 contain 128GB NAND storage chips but advertise only 64GB to users—half the physical capacity is inaccessible.
  • Apple has a precedent for this practice: M4 iPad Pro 8GB models housed 12GB of RAM with only 8GB exposed to the system.
  • The reason for the discrepancy is unclear; Apple may be reserving storage for sensor operations or hardware longevity, but has not publicly explained.
  • Teardowns are expected to confirm the finding and potentially reveal Apple's rationale.

“Apple is using a 128GB NAND flash die in Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models, claims a Chinese hardware researcher, despite both devices officially offering only 64GB of storage.”

MacRumors · MacRumors ↗

Chinese hardware researcher DiscovererApple Device manufacturer

Apple Watch Series 12, Ultra 4 may contain double their advertised storage
macrumors.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 3 pieces in one hour at Sep 21, 8 AM; 4 pieces over 3 days (1 article · 3 posts) Sep 21, 8 AM — 3 pieces · 1 article · 2 posts — Mastodon 2, Newswires 1Sep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 3 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Sep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quiet 1
Sep 22yesterdaynow · 11:28 AM ET
  1. 1

    Pattern emergesApple has hidden hardware before

    MacRumors notes that a similar situation occurred with the M4 iPad Pro in 2024, when teardowns revealed 8GB models actually contained 12GB of physical RAM with only 8GB made available to the system. The report speculates Apple may be reserving storage for intensive sensor data or durability buffers.

    “It's unclear why Apple would limit the accessible capacity, but it could conceivably be reserving some of it for intensive sensor data read/writes or as a durability buffer.”
    — MacRumors
    1. 1 outlet Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 May Have Hidden Flash Storage

      first by MacRumors, 3d ago

  2. background

    Chinese researcher discovers 128GB NAND in Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 — A Chinese hardware researcher claims Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models contain 128GB NAND flash dies despite both devices being officially rated at 64GB storage. The discrepancy between physical and accessible capacity remains unexplained.