Why is storage always available in numbers like 64, 128, or 256GB in phones, and not 100GB or 200GB? What are companies hiding?

Smartphone Storage: We often see storage variants like 64, 128, or 256GB in phones, but we never think about why companies don't offer storage in simple round figures like 50, 100, or 200GB.

We often see storage variants like 64, 128, or 256GB in phones, but we never think about why companies don't offer storage in simple round figures like 50, 100, or 200GB. This question seems simple, but its answer is equally technical and interesting. The reasons are many, and they all relate directly to the structure of the phone's memory.

The first reason is that all digital memory operates on the binary system. In the world of computers and mobile phones, everything is understood in terms of 0s and 1s. Because of this arrangement, storage can only be manufactured in doubling patterns, such as 32, 64, 128, and 256 GB. Due to the binary structure, sizes like 100 or 200 GB are technically incompatible, so companies cannot produce storage in such round numbers.

Another reason for this is the structure of the storage chip. If a memory chip is considered a building, it consists of many small rooms, called blocks. Once the size of these rooms is determined, it cannot be changed. If a company wants to manufacture 100 GB of storage instead of 128 GB, it means changing the entire structure or destroying many blocks. This is not only technically difficult but also costly and detrimental for the company.

Each memory chip also contains a controller that determines where data is written and how it is deleted. This controller is also designed for standard sizes like 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB. If a company suddenly introduces an unusual capacity, such as 100GB, the controller could malfunction, causing the phone to slow down or cause problems like storage corruption.

Software is also a major factor. Operating systems like Android and iOS have been built with this standard storage scale for years. If a non-standard size suddenly appears on the market, the system will not be able to recognize it properly, and problems may arise.

In this sense, a phone's storage is made up of small, fixed-size blocks that can only be combined in binary logic to double their size. This is why mobile phones, laptops, and memory cards all feature the same repeating patterns: 32, 64, 128, and 256GB. These sizes have now become the industry standard, and any capacity beyond these is neither practical nor useful.