New iPhones are 64 times bigger (on the inside) than in 2007

Philip 'Phil' Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc., unveils the new iPhone 7 during an event in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

If nothing else, the iPhone 7 packs a punch.

With 256 gigabytes of storage for its most powerful version, Apple's new iPhone has 64 times the amount of space as the company's original smartphone nine years ago.

Increased storage is a critical piece in convincing consumers to upgrade, as anyone with a 12GB iPhone 5 can attest. Few things are more annoying than being told that you don't have room for another app or photo, even after pushing as much data as possible to iCloud or Dropbox.

The iPhone 7 starts at 32GB for $650 and goes up to 256GB for $200 more (depending on the carrier and length of contract), the company said today at an event in San Francisco.

Back in 2007, when Apple introduced the original iPhone, models came with 4GB or 8GB of storage, with the lower-end device starting at $500.

Apple said at the time that the iPhone "ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones."

That was before the iPhone turned into a full-service camera, video game console and photo gallery.

Just how big is 256GB? It's the amount of storage in a $2,000 MacBook Pro with a 15-inch screen.