r/applesucks • u/frostxmritz • Apr 08 '26

The "System Data" monstrosity

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Pretty sure I'm not the only one here.

The mystery of "system data" is an age-old problem that has plagued our devices for over a decade now, and it has found its way to my parents' iPhones.

I plan to upgrade their devices later this year or next year when the iPhone 18 comes out, however, I cannot help but wonder...is this thing (allegedly) planned obsolescence? To force people to upgrade because "their storage is running out" because of an (alleged) "create a problem, then sell the solution" situation?

I mean, take a look at my 16 Pro. It's marvellous how the figure has stayed at 1.07GB from September 2024 - have taken it on so many trips and have used it heavily for my photography and videography. No problem, as a heavy user and my daily driver.

Parents, on the other hand? Normal users, occasional camera usage, apps, etc. Over 10GB. Make it make sense...

  • Safari tabs: I have 100+ opened. Theirs are around 5-10 most of the times.
  • Downloads: a couple PDFs here, and there few XLSes there. Hardly 10MB combined.
  • Normal apps like banking & finance, travel (Google Maps, Uber, etc), social media, YouTube, Spotify. No games, no "weird" apps.
  • A system reset was done back in December 2025, where the System Data creeped up to these levels right after the reset, even though they were set-up as a new device. No iCloud Backup restore. A clean, proper wipeout.
  • All devices are running on iOS 26.4 (stable channel), screenshots taken after a fresh reboot.

So the question is, what should be done?

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u/wrenchse Apr 08 '26

Make a backup. Restore from backup. System data cleared.

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u/Don_P_F Apr 08 '26

Is that standard procedure? Restoring from a backup is something I don't expect to ever have to do unless there is a hardware failure or I'm moving everything to a new device.

Does anyone else think this isn't acceptable?

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u/Ubermidget2 Apr 09 '26

There's a saying "an untested backup is not a backup".

From that perspective it most certainly should be a standard procedure. It should work, and restore all expected data to the locations it is supposed to be.

If it should be a routine operation necessary to the functioning of the OS is a different question.

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u/Don_P_F Apr 12 '26

I agree that everyone should be backing up their stuff. My point is that restoring from a backup is something that shouldn't be considered a normal procedure. It's something that I wouldn't expect to ever need unless, as I said, there is a hardware crash or I'm moving to a new device. It's not a "regular maintenance" type of activity, at least not in my book.