Apple SVP Phil Schiller Talks 16 GB iPhones, Single-USB MacBook, and More

A day after Apple kicked off its annual Worldwide Developer conference, Apple SVP Phil Schiller joined Daring Fireball’s John Gruber for a live interview for The Talk Show podcast. The episode is not live yet, but while we are waiting for it, The Verge has posted a few gems from the interview.

While we know how Apple wants to save space on your device (see this story about App Thinning) the reality is that entry-level (8 GB or 16 GB) iPhones and iPads aren’t too handy in terms of storage for everyday users. Gruber suggested what we all want: Apple should increase the storage capacity of low-end iDevices.

Schiller, on the other hand, had Apple’s argument for keeping the storage low for those devices.

“The belief is more and more as we use iCloud services for documents and our photos and videos and music,” he said, “that perhaps the most price-conscious customers are able to live in an environment where they don’t need gobs of local storage because these services are lightening the load.”

The money Apple saves on lower-end devices could go toward the higher-cost components of the device, he said. (You can believe him, if you want, but don’t forget that he is a marketing guy.)

As you may recall, thinness is one of the keywords Apple uses in its product presentations. This, however, also raises questions about battery life – usually, the iPhone lasts a day on a single charge. When asked about how the product’s thinness and battery life relate to each other, Schiller said:

“If you want a product that’s thicker with a bigger battery it’s also heavier, more costly, takes longer to charge,” he said. “We model every thickness, every size, every weight and try to figure out what the tradeoffs are. I think we’ve made great choices there.”

Finally, Schiller admitted that the new MacBook won’t be everyone’s device, but he also expressed the need for releasing forward-thinking products to push the world into the future.

Keep an eye on Daring Fireball; this episode of The Talk Show will go live soon.