Why are apps suddenly so big?

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Quick pop quiz:

Guess the size of Google's Gmail app for iOS

If you guessed the last option, congrats!

Yes, the Gmail app is almost 1GB in size, and that’s without any of the actual emails! That’s just the app itself.

Now pick up your iPhone, and go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.

Scroll down, and look at what apps are eating up your iPhone’s precious storage space.

For me, the biggest offenders are Photos (10GB), Health (5GB), Music (5GB), X (3GB) and The New York Times app (1.7GB).

OK, yeah, Photos and Music are understandable, but Health? If I tap the chevron to the right, I’m told the actual app is only 17.3MB in size, but the documents and data it uses take up a whopping 4.72GB!

If the Health app is just 17MB (surely, that can’t be right??? ), why are the X and NYT apps so big? None of this makes any sense.

Lots of people are noticing the bloat that defines modern iOS apps. But what’s causing it? Is it poor programming and optimization? Feature creep? Bad platform design? Or the natural evolution of modern software?

Well, the answer is all the above, and more: Here’s why iOS apps are so bloated these days.

Also in today’s newsletter:

Uh-oh: Professional hackers broke into one of Apple’s biggest supply partners and are demanding a ransom for troves of stolen data. Every Apple reporter on the planet is waiting with bated breath!
Here’s a handy setting for getting the time from your Apple Watch on the sly, i.e., during interminable meetings where looking at the clock would be gauche. Definitely handy to know.
I never got into Apple TV’s For All Mankind, but the reviews got better and better with each new season. The latest season (No. 5) will debut soon, and tbh, the trailer puts me off. Maybe I’ll hold off till season six. Am I missing out? Take today’s poll below.
I must concur: The Blip app is a blessing for sending large files over the internet — and it’s 100% free, with no ads in sight. Highly recommended.
Woot’s big Apple blowout sale is ongoing. It’s a rare chance to save on Apple’s monitors, which rarely see big discounts, and a $5 coupon code (which expires tonight) makes some of the cables pretty cheap.
You can play games on your iWatch?

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

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Major data breach could expose Apple secrets

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Get the time without even looking at your Apple Watch

You don’t need to glance at your Apple Watch if you use a little-known feature called Taptic Time.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

Blowout on Apple gear: Save on everything from Pro Display XDR to charging cables

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Your Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad gets firmware updates — here’s how they work

Updating the firmware on your Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad is really very easy. And important. Here's what to do.

^{A message from}^{the Cult of Mac Deals team}

Price cut: Secure 10TB of cloud storage for life with one-time payment

Get a massive amount of storage for life from Internxt with this discounted 10TB cloud storage plan. Make a single payment of less than $270.

Make AI text undetectable: This tool bypasses major AI detectors

The Undetectable Humanizer transforms your AI-generated text into natural, human-like prose to help it bypass AI-detection systems.

Countdown begins: How ‘For All Mankind’ season 5 shakes up interplanetary politics

Apple TV's hit sci-fi series "For All Mankind," an alternative history of the space race, returns in March. Take a first look.

This free app beams massive files quickly across the internet [Awesome Apps]

The Blip file transfer app is a delightful utility that lets you send files across the internet, directly from your machine to theirs.

Today in Apple history: Letterpad gives us a preview of Apple Watch gaming

On January 21, 2015, months before the first Apple Watch arrived, "LetterPad" gave users a glimpse of the future of games on the device.

Cult of Mac’s buyback program

We pay top dollar for used Apple gear

Sell your old iPhone, iPad, MacBook and more through Cult of Mac. Free shipping, fast payment!

Tweets of the day

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Wallpaper of the day

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One more thing ...

❝

There’s some notion that because I was abandoned, I worked very hard so I could do well and make my parents wish they had me back, or some such nonsense, but that’s ridiculous. Knowing I was adopted may have made me feel more independent, but I have never felt abandoned. I’ve always felt special. My parents made me feel special.

— Steve Jobs, 2011.

Today’s poll

Should we all be watching "For All Mankind"?

Results from yesterday’s poll: Have you downloaded and used dodgy AI apps?

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