How Much Storage Does a Work Tablet Need?

For most tradespeople, 128GB is plenty for a work tablet and 64GB is enough if you take a few photos a day and let them sync to the cloud. The two things that fill a device are site photos and PDF drawings, not apps. Five of the six Tuga devices come with 128GB, the Tuga A6 handheld comes with 64GB, and every model has a microSD slot, so the honest answer is that storage is rarely the reason to pick one device over another. This guide explains what uses the space, how to work out your own number, and what to do when a device starts to fill up.

What Actually Fills a Work Tablet

Think of the storage in three parts: the operating system and the apps, the files you make, and the files you keep.

The operating system takes its share before you do anything. Android and Windows both reserve a chunk of the stated capacity, and the apps you install on top are modest by comparison. A job management app, a quoting and invoicing app, a cloud storage app, email, maps and a PDF reader together take up a small fraction of 64GB. Apps are not the problem.

Photos are. A 13MP photo from the rear camera on the A6, A8 or A10 is, as a rule of thumb, somewhere between 3MB and 6MB depending on the scene and the settings. Call it roughly 5MB to be safe. A short video clip of a running boiler or a leaking joint is far larger than a photo, and a minute of Full HD video can run to well over 100MB. If you record video on site, that is the single biggest thing on your device.

PDF drawings come next. A text-only certificate or a quote is tiny. A scanned A1 drawing or a plan with a photographic background can be tens of megabytes per sheet, and a full drawing pack for a job can run to hundreds. If you open plans on site, the storage question is really about how many jobs' worth of drawings you keep on the device at once.

Work Out Your Own Number

Rather than trusting a figure that applies to someone else's business, do the sum for yours. These are rough estimates to help you think, not measurements.

1. Photos per day. Count the photos you took on a typical day last week. Multiply by roughly 5MB. Twenty photos a day is roughly 100MB a day, or roughly 2GB a month of working days.
2. Video. If you record clips, be honest about how many and how long. Video can double or triple your monthly total on its own.
3. Drawings and documents. Look at the file sizes of the drawing packs you currently carry, on paper or on a laptop. Add the manuals and offline maps you would want with you.
4. How long you keep things on the device. This is the number that changes everything. If photos leave the device every night, your working total is a few days' worth. If nothing ever leaves, you are adding every month's total to the last.

A sole trader taking twenty photos a day, keeping a month of them on the device and carrying a modest set of drawings would, on these rough figures, use a few gigabytes. Even allowing for the operating system, 64GB has room to spare. A site manager keeping every drawing pack for every live job and a year of photos is in a different position, and 128GB with a microSD card starts to look sensible.

Cloud Sync or Local Storage?

The storage figure on the box matters less than where your files live. There are two models and most firms end up with a mix.

Local Storage

Files stay on the device. Nothing uploads unless you move it. The advantages are that it works with no signal, nothing is shared you did not mean to share, and there is no monthly fee. The disadvantages are that a lost, stolen or drowned tablet takes its photos with it, the device fills up over time, and the office cannot see the job sheet until the tablet comes back.

Cloud Sync

Photos and documents upload to a cloud service or to your job management app when the device has signal, and older files can be cleared from the device while staying available online. Most job management apps work this way already: the photo you take inside a job sheet uploads to the job record, and the office sees it. The advantages are that a lost device loses nothing that had already synced, the device never fills up, and the whole team sees the same files. The disadvantages are that it depends on a data connection, uploading photos uses your allowance, and syncing a drawing pack to a device before you leave the yard takes planning.

For most trades the sensible setup is cloud sync for photos and job records, with the drawings and manuals for current jobs downloaded to the device so they open without signal. That arrangement keeps the local footprint small on any device in the range, which is why we say storage is rarely the deciding factor. Our guide to 4G, 5G or Wi-Fi only covers the data side, and protecting customer data on a work tablet covers why a synced photo is also a safer photo.

One caution. Check how your job management app handles offline work. Some keep a local copy and sync later; others need a connection to open a job at all.

Storage on Each Tuga Device

Every figure below is from the published specification for each model. Where a limit is not listed, we say so rather than guess.

• Tuga A6, £349: 64GB built in, microSD up to 256GB. The second SIM tray doubles as the microSD slot, so you choose between a second SIM and a card. Android 15.
• Tuga A8, £379: 128GB built in and a microSD slot. No card size limit is listed. Android 12.
• Tuga A10, £449: 128GB built in, microSD up to 2TB. Android 14.
• Tuga WH6, £699: 128GB eMMC built in, microSD (TF) up to 512GB. Windows 11 IoT.
• Tuga W8, £629: 128GB SSD built in and a microSD (TF) slot. No card size limit is listed. Windows 11 Pro.
• Tuga W10, £649: 128GB built in and a microSD (TF) slot, plus factory storage upgrades to 256GB for £69 or 512GB for £125, fitted before dispatch. Windows 11 Pro.

Prices are as listed, with no VAT to add.

Is 64GB on the A6 Enough?

For what the A6 is for, yes. It is a 6 inch handheld that lives in a pocket or a holster, for scanning, proof of delivery, quick photos and short forms. Nobody is reading A1 drawing packs on a 6 inch screen. If your photos sync through a job app or a cloud service, 64GB covers the operating system, your apps and weeks of photos. If you want to keep more on the device, a microSD card up to 256GB more than quadruples the space for less than the cost of a tank of fuel. Just remember that on the A6 the card takes the place of the second SIM.

When 128GB Is the Right Call

Pick a 128GB device when drawings are part of the job, when you record video, or when the tablet is shared across a team and nobody is in charge of clearing it. The Tuga A10 is the obvious choice for drawing packs: a 10.1 inch Full HD screen to read them on, 128GB to hold them, and a microSD slot rated up to 2TB if a firm wants every live project on the device. Our guide to 8 inch or 10 inch screens covers the size question.

When Windows Changes the Sum

Windows software tends to be larger than an Android app, and Windows itself takes more of the drive. If you are buying a Windows device to run a desktop program, check that program's published disk space requirement before you assume 128GB is enough, and add the drawings and documents on top. The W10 is the only device in the range with a factory storage upgrade, so if the sum comes out tight, order it with 256GB or 512GB rather than relying on a card. A microSD card is fine for photos and documents, but some Windows programs expect to be installed on the main drive.

MicroSD Cards: What They Are Good For and What They Are Not

A card is the cheapest way to add space, and every Tuga device has a slot.

• Use a card for files, not apps. Photos, videos, PDFs, maps and manuals are what a card is for. Installing apps or programs to a card is unreliable on both Android and Windows, and some simply will not allow it.
• Buy a card rated for video recording if you record clips. Cards carry speed ratings on the packaging.
• A card can fail or go missing. It is not a backup. It is more space. Anything that matters still needs to sync or be copied off.
• Check the limit. The A6 lists up to 256GB, the WH6 up to 512GB and the A10 up to 2TB. The A8, W8 and W10 list a slot without a stated maximum, so if you plan on a very large card, ask us before you buy it.

Keeping a Device From Filling Up

1. Take photos inside the job app where you can. They attach to the job and upload on their own.
2. Turn on automatic photo backup, on Wi-Fi only if your data allowance is small.
3. Clear finished jobs. Once a job is invoiced and synced, delete the local drawing pack.
4. Watch video. A few forgotten clips can take more space than a year of photos.
5. Check the storage screen once a month. Both operating systems show what is using the space.

The Short Version

Photos and drawings are what fill a device, video fills it fastest, and cloud sync keeps the local footprint small on any model. A sole trader with a job app that syncs photos will be fine on the A6's 64GB, and anyone who opens drawing packs on site will be comfortable on a 128GB tablet with a card in it. If you are weighing storage alongside screen size, ports and operating system, the Which Tuga? picker walks through the other questions, or ask us what you plan to carry and we will tell you honestly whether it fits.

Every device comes with a 12 month warranty, and delivery is free to UK addresses in 7 to 10 working days.

Compare head to head: A6 vs A8 · A8 vs A10 · A10 vs WH6