The average non-expandable memory of devices has increased by 2300 percent, from 16 GB in 2014 to a peak of 384 GB in 2024. This exponential growth highlights the increasing demands of apps, media, and data storage over time, necessitating larger internal storage capacities in modern devices.
According to Statista Digital Economy Compass, the world generated 64 zettabytes of data in the past year alone (one zettabyte is equal to a trillion gigabytes).
A recent study by TRG Datacenters analysed apps in four main categories – communication, navigation, work, and social media – to identify how much data volume grows over time. There are some notable growth areas. For example, during the past ten years, the average file size of Asana and Trello has changed by 1000 percent, the biggest increase among work-related apps.
In terms of file types, image files have seen the least file size change from 2014 to 2024, at only 217 percent. The average file size of photos has seen a moderate increase from 3 MB in 2014 to a peak of 9.5 MB in 2023 before slightly decreasing to 7 MB in 2024.
In terms of how the data was gathered for analysis, the download sizes of these apps were traced over time using the Wayback Machine. The study also gathered data on the most sold phones from 2014 to 2024, focusing on their photo, video, and non-expandable memory characteristics. By calculating the average non-expandable memory and the sizes of photos and videos, the study compared these sizes over the years to determine the file size change both in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB) and as a percentage.
The data output can be summarised as:
| Type of data | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2020 | 2022 | 2024 | File Size Change | File Size Change, By Percentage |
| Photos (MB) | 3 | 3 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 6.5 | 7 | 6.5 MB | 217% |
| Videos (MB/minute) | 60 | 170 | 400 | 450 | 400 | 500 | 440 MB | 733% |
| WhatsApp (MB) | 15 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 35 | 40 | 25 MB | 167% |
| Slack (MB) | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 50 MB | 500% |
| Zoom (MB) | 15 | 25 | 35 | 45 | 55 | 65 | 50 MB | 333% |
| Asana (MB) | 5 | 15 | 25 | 35 | 45 | 55 | 50 MB | 1000% |
| Trello (MB) | 5 | 15 | 25 | 35 | 45 | 55 | 50 MB | 1000% |
| LinkedIn (MB) | 35 | 50 | 70 | 120 | 180 | 220 | 185 MB | 529% |
| Average Non-Expandable Memory (GB) | 16 | 48 | 96 | 192 | 256 | 384 | 368 GB | 2300% |
In term of other files, the file size of videos per minute has grown from 60 MB in 2014 to 500 MB in 2024, a 733 percent increase. This growth is primarily due to the transition from lower resolution to 4K and even higher video quality, requiring more storage capacity for each minute of footage.
Third on the list isWhatsApp. Here the file size has steadily increased from 15 MB in 2014 to a peak of 40 MB in 2024, a 167 percent rise. This consistent growth aligns with the app’s continuous feature enhancements and increased data requirements for richer media and messaging capabilities.
In fourth position, Slack saw a substantial 500 percent increase in file size, growing from 10 MB in 2014 to a peak of 60 MB in 2024. This growth reflects the platform’s expansion in collaborative tools, integrations, and multimedia messaging, requiring more storage.
In fifth place, Zoom’s file size increased by 333%, from 15 MB in 2014 to a peak of 65 MB in 2024. This significant growth is due to the platform’s development into a comprehensive communication tool that supports high-quality video calls, webinars, and collaboration features.
