Like getting involved in a land war in Asia, buying an iPhone with 16 GBs of storage is a classic blunder. Apps, photos, videos, and everything else is getting larger. While you could get away with a 16 GB phone five years ago, now it's next to impossible.
If you've got a 16 GB iPhone, or even a 32 GB model, you need to manage your storage carefully. It's easy to fill the hard drive completely if you download a few popular apps and use your phone as a camera. While you can clean up some space on your iPhone, it's awkward and slow. I'm going to show you a better option: iMyfone Umate.
iMyfone Umate Review
iMyfone Umate is a Windows and Mac app that frees up storage on your iPhone.
To use iMyfone Umate, connect your iPhone to your computer, scan the device, and then choose which kinds of files you want to get rid of. It's as simple as that.
With iMyfone Umate you can remove or compress five kinds of files: Junk Files, Temporary Files, Photos, Large Files and Apps.
Junk Files are things like crash logs. They build up as you use the device but, unless you're a developer, you don't really need them. They don't take up too much space, but they still save a bit.
Temporary Files are mainly app caches and failed downloads. Every app will store data it needs in a cache. If you no longer use that app, however, that cache will sit there wasting your already limited storage space. Any app you do use will quickly rebuild its cache next time you start it.
iMyfone Umate doesn't just delete all your Photos and videos and go, "Look at all the space you've saved!" Instead, it losslessly compresses them and backs up the originals to your computer. How much space you save depends on how big the original files are and what sort of data they contain. For some things you can save as much as 75% of their initial file size.
Large Files flags the biggest files on your device. If you have any 500 MB videos sitting in your camera roll, it'll show them and give you the option to back them up to your computer and delete the originals off your device. It's great for getting rid of big video files that otherwise sit unnoticed.
Finally, the Apps section lets you delete apps. It's nothing you can't do on your iPhone but the interface is far easier to use with iMyfone Umate. No more watching apps jiggle.
What I Found
To be honest, I was sceptical about reviewing iMyfone Umate when I was asked to do it. Any time you visit less-salubrious corners of the Internet, you get bombarded with ads for software that promises the world but delivers Kansas.
The good news is, iMyfone Umate is nothing like other apps that underdeliver. It's actually really good! I've a 64 GB iPhone 6s Plus that's about eight months old. Before running iMyfone Umate, I had 49.8 GB of used space and 11.88 GB of free space. After using it to clean my phone, I had 34.22 GB of used space and 24.83 GB of free space — a saving of 12.95 GB. That's more than 30%, which is crazy.
Even more crazy, is I didn't do much. I just removed Junk Files, Temporary Files, and a couple of small apps that I'd been meaning to delete anyway. I saved about 250 MB of space from junk files and another 1.2 GB from deleted apps; the rest was all Temporary Files.
Freeing up 15 GB of space would be pointless if it made my iPhone worse to use. I was worried that iMyfone Umate might have deleted my downloaded tracks in Spotify, articles in Instapaper, or audiobooks in Audible. It didn't.
I used my iPhone normally for a while between running iMyfone Umate and writing this article to give it a proper test. It seemed as fast as ever. Apps weren't slower to open or missing data. It doesn't seem like anything crucial was accidentally removed.
Although I didn't see a speed benefit, that's most likely because I'm using a newish iPhone that already had plenty of free space. If you're using an iPhone that's almost full, you might see a performance improvement after running iMyfone Umate. At the very least, you'll be able to store a lot more of the stuff you actually want.
Free vs. Paid
iMyfone Umate costs $19.95 (usually $29.95) from the developer's website. There's also a free trial you can download, which lets you scan your iPhone to see how much space you can save. The free version will also remove junk files once, compress the latest five photos and remove one app. For the full suite of features, you'll have to register for a license.
Exclusive offer: MakeUseOf readers can save 67% on a iMyfone Umate license. Get it now for just $9.95 and save a further $10!
Buy iMyfone Umate for Windows and Mac OS X ($29.95 $9.95).
Wrapping Up
I was really impressed with iMyfone Umate. Space-saving apps are a famously scammy category. It's great to see one that over delivered on its promises. It managed to save me over 15 GB of space. That's more than the user storage you get with a 16 GB iPhone.
iMyfone Umate isn't free but it's easily worth the $20. If you're trying to prolong the life of an old iPhone, it can really help for a fraction of the the cost of a new one.
Remember, MakeUseOf readers can get a copy of iMyfone Umate for Windows and Mac OS X for just $9.95!
If you've an iPhone with a 16 GB of space, you'll benefit from running iMyfone Umate regularly. If you've got a 64 GB iPhone, you probably won't hit your storage limit, but Junk Files and Temporary Files can slow down your iPhone.
Have you run out of space on your iPhone? What ways have you tried to clear it? If you haven't already, you should try iMyfone Umate; it might be just the tool you're looking for.
Image Credit: Retro broomstick by Grimgram via Shutterstock