Computer makers, notably Apple although others are guilty of this too, have always shipped low end hardware to get you in the door. Like a car manufacturer offering low end engine for some models.
But in this case, how much is your time worth? If you're like most people hanging out on hacker news (assuming a tech career) its not unreasonable to expect your salary to be $100/hour.
If you're spending more than 2 hours mucking with moving things around, then perhaps your next phone purchase should consider how much time you're spending vs. the price of increased storage.
But the iPhone has shipped with 16GB minimum storage ever since the 4s four years ago. Since then the speed, resolution, and camera have all increased by at least one factor of two. All of these things also increase the storage requirements for photos and apps.
If I was the type of user who was satisfied with the base model of my old phone, and I buy the new base model and am not satisfied, then I am not going to be happy. I use my phone the same way I did four years ago. If I wasn't a 'pro' user then, why am I now?
The more general point is that the price difference between those models has next to nothing to do with the actual cost of storage, though. I bought a 16GB Android phone then bought a 64GB micro SD card for $30. That's a lot less than the $100 price bump on the iPhone.
But I digress. The 6S was clearly never getting an SD card slot.
But in this case, how much is your time worth? If you're like most people hanging out on hacker news (assuming a tech career) its not unreasonable to expect your salary to be $100/hour.
If you're spending more than 2 hours mucking with moving things around, then perhaps your next phone purchase should consider how much time you're spending vs. the price of increased storage.