Flashback: the rise (and fall?) of the microSD card

04 December 2022
The microSD card grew to bigger and bigger capacities over the years and got faster along the way. So why is it waning in popularity?

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  • D
  • AnonD-1058210
  • 3aL
  • 06 Dec 2022

YUKI93, 05 Dec 2022Not all phones have OTG support. Even if you use the adapte... moreThe latest ones since year or two even 3 old all of them have it's in soc normally if some doesn't have they must be very old phones
You have to manually turn it on because it drains battery there is auto off after 10 minutes ..
Hard drive and connecting to phone ?jeez never seen anyone doing that you need external power phone can't deliver so much current 2.5" SSD require 5V usb flash drives need 3.3V which phones has

    • D
    • AnonD-1058210
    • 3aL
    • 06 Dec 2022

    Anonymous, 05 Dec 2022You seem to be the kind of guy that would by a Windows Tabl... moreNoo that's exaggeration normal IIISi Z16 Hiroshi Fujiwara limited edition laptop I have i7 11800H 3060 RTX web cam is there never used it .. Hooked up onto the 55" Samsung 4k@120 TV via thunderbolt 4 playing warzone 2.0 😜
    I have mini rtx rig as well pc connected to tv witj Ryzen 3700x 1660 super and strangely it performs much faster than laptop lately .. They updated Windows 11 and it is only worse and somehow it dropping frames laptop does not run on full performance they messing with drivers it was all good month ago

      • D
      • AnonD-1058210
      • 3aL
      • 06 Dec 2022

      Anonymous, 05 Dec 2022It's simpler to have them both included inside of the ... moreNah i don't have it so bad it is only used in bed 🙂

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • xq5
        • 06 Dec 2022

        Anonymous, 06 Dec 2022Or buy a phone with sd card slot and enjoy the best of both... moreBrands will slowly but surely remove your beloved slot. So when you have to buy a new phone you won't have choice anymore. If that happens remember my useful advice.

          Mediatek sux, 05 Dec 2022Why? If i can play pokemon on my phone why would i carry an... moreTell me without telling me you're a pirate.

            ME, 05 Dec 2022I have all my music & fotos on an micro-sd ..... why wo... moreWhat's the size? And how do you back them up? microSD cards don't last forever, they do get corrupted with time. They're not intended as permanent/archival storage medium.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • sUS
              • 06 Dec 2022

              Anonymous, 05 Dec 2022Using cloud storage is completely dumb. First, they can ... moreYoutube Music and Stadia too. And yes, the people who allow these things to happen are the very people the tech companies are making gadgets for.

              Soon we will have a cloud-only Windows and they will be happy because there will be more space on their 128GB ssd lmao.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • sUS
                • 06 Dec 2022

                [deleted post]Lmao. Resorting to personal insults when you cannot have a counterpoint. I have loads of sd cards, HDD and SSDs. I also susbcribe to r/datahoarder so I don't end up like cloud-only people being surprised when something bad happens.

                Oh, do remember what happened to Youtube Music? haha

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • sUS
                  • 06 Dec 2022

                  Anonymous, 05 Dec 2022Just buy a decent flash drive and an otg. When you need to ... moreOr buy a phone with sd card slot and enjoy the best of both worlds. Stop limiting people.

                    • S
                    • Sin
                    • 3aP
                    • 05 Dec 2022

                    Anonymous, 05 Dec 2022Well battery life is a huge factor, putting ultra high spee... moreSome smartphones already have SSD storage and show it does work in the real world that it is superior

                    The Lenovo legion y90 has ufs 512gb storage in raid with 128gb SSD storage

                    This is a good start it also has a fully functional active cooling system with dual built-in fans

                    Dual changing ports and dual changers and not just one but 2 changers come in the box with this smartphone

                    Also Nubia red magic has fan in box Also

                    Same case for Asus Rog mediatek or Snapdragon version both dual changing ports and x2 changer in the box plus a external fan

                    Nubia red magic phones where the first too standardize
                    The build in active cooling systems with single fans built-in fans

                    It's already been proven that the performance level of a gaming smartphone is at least one year of a flagship smartphone

                    So much can be learned from this

                    It's sad only the razer and the razer phone understands the SD card is important too gamers and well everyone

                    A lot can be learned from the gaming smartphones for regular smartphones as a gaming smartphone is just a extreme monster super high end hardware flagships

                    The benefits of the engineering done in them with hardware and software optimization should come too all mainstream brands and smartphone modals

                    Having a well cooled super fast pure SSD the OS is running off being cooled by fans will improve the how smooth a smartphone runs and the experience in a way you can't even imagine

                      • N
                      • Nomnom
                      • K3q
                      • 05 Dec 2022

                      I love SD - for everything but a phone. A fast USB3/lightning is all I want to back up or transfer large amounts data.

                      Midrange phones still carry headphone jacks and SD cards at lower prices while flagships have dropped both 2x or 3x the price. Different users with different budgets.

                        • S
                        • Sin
                        • 3aP
                        • 05 Dec 2022

                        Anonymous, 05 Dec 2022Well battery life is a huge factor, putting ultra high spee... more ultra high speed ssd/m.2 storage won't hurt battery life just add power saver settings in software and increase battery overall size 7000mah or 8000mah

                        restricted in size & space but more airflow/cooler just make the smartphone a little thicker and add cooling fans for the SSD too stay cool

                        completely sealed for ip65/68 rating more like so you can't replace your battery and very hard too repair

                        Water proofing should be done by a water proof case that should come in the box with ever smartphone as well as screen protectors the changer and SD card 3.5m headphones etc

                        Smartphones really should just have removable battery's still multi ports SD cards sim card slots etc and be fully replaceable

                        The benefits of bigger battery expandble storage and SSD boot drives that are cooled by fans will improve the experience of using a smartphone by miles

                        Everything know ultra mega fast SSD boot drives can improve performance in a way no other spec can there badly needed on Smartphones

                        Also the use of software should really be used too make up for the short comings of only 18gb ram maximum on a smartphone

                        at least virtual ram using storage for additional ram swoop space is improving the overall ram bandwidth with an extra 6gb ram
                        For a total of combined 24gb ram

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • pjh
                          • 05 Dec 2022

                          Using cloud storage is completely dumb.

                          First, they can scan and remove your data. We saw this multiple times with Apple and Microsoft. They can even acuse you of commiting crimes, eventough you didn't. They say that in China for example, people were getting their photos removed on cloud storage for manifestations.

                          Cloud storage and streaming consumes A LOT of battery. Go stream your music while on the train, and with very very bad data connection like when abroad in roaming.

                          When the phones dies, ALL your data is gone. It is just another security layer to save data on MicroSD card.

                          When upgrading your phone, even 10 Gb of music and app data (like even WhatsApp can consume this much) is completely a pain, even with 5G (because upload is far more slower than download), you must have 5ghz high speed WiFi at your home for this.

                          MicroSD means UNLIMITED storage, and is cheaper, not just 1TB of storage. Why ? Because you can easily SWAP it out.

                          MicroSD is more ecollogical and reduces e-waste. Because, you don't need to upgrade your 128 Gb phone just to upgrade the memory. Just the small microSD card (that you can keep for backup with your "old" pictures/videos)

                          Finally, the most dumb part (if all what was said is not already pretty dumb) is that they remove microSD but keep the second SIM slot, something that 99% of people I know don't give a flying fck. Even me, I NEED to have two phone numbers, I don't use this useless slot (I would call it useless, but why keep the SIM slot but remove the microSD ? It is almost like a software limitation).

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • 5xx
                            • 05 Dec 2022

                            Curiously, my Samsung Android A52 phone now sports both a 3.5mm stereo phone jack and a 512GB card at about 90GB of files, pictures, and use for audio and "sneaker-net" uploads and downloads. When the phone either dies or goes obsolete, we'll likely pursue purchasing a similar, middle of the road phone, with at least a 1 or 2TB storage capacity & 3.5mm jack. Dongles eventually destroy their jack connections or get damaged in day-to-day use, and require additional pocket or travel storage space we don't need or want. We're also a "boomer" Electrical & Recording Engineer with advanced degrees, who relies on SD cards for video camera use and quickly removable high capacity PC storage! SD and microSD cards are far from extinct, until someone actually creates a petabyte crystal of the same size! (Any Engineer will ultimately consume all available storage space, and this is most certainly proven out by the new ronnabyte and quetabyte defined for "large data" capacities. Ronna is 10 to the power 27. So that's a one with 27 zeros after it. Quetta is 10 to the power 30. So that's a one with 30 zeros after it... Maybe growing on to a googol, the number 10 raised to the power 100, and googolon, 10 to the power of a googol! Making even a petabyte seem as small potatoes storage for the daily data flowing on the internet today! To quote Buzz Lighyear, "To Infinity and beyond!" )

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • xq5
                              • 05 Dec 2022

                              Just buy a decent flash drive and an otg. When you need to reset your phone or free up storage just move your files to your flash drive. Very simple.

                                SD and MicroSD Cards are still very much a thing and used a lot more than people think. Some 2021-2022 Budget phones still have support for both MicroSD Cards and 3.5mm AUX Jacks.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • svJ
                                  • 05 Dec 2022

                                  [deleted post]you just too agressive yo, chill down, dont cry

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • HW1
                                    • 05 Dec 2022

                                    AnonD-1058210, 05 Dec 2022What u talking about that micro sd alternative doesn't... moreIt's simpler to have them both included inside of the phone instead of holding a literal spider web in your hands of cables and dongles.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • HW1
                                      • 05 Dec 2022

                                      LoLoL, 04 Dec 2022Still some idiots saying " I hope it has SD" It... moreOK, genius. Let's say I have an external storage device for my phone:
                                      It's bulky, It's another thing I have to carry around, I have to manually move files over to the drive in my stock camera app, I can't even move my applications/games to this storage medium, and I can no longer charge my phone and it doesn't have wireless charging. I can't even encrypt it through Android but I can with an SD card.

                                        • J
                                        • JustSomeRandomGuy
                                        • EwD
                                        • 05 Dec 2022

                                        fall? where? who? SD cards are still very relevant on cameras, handheld consoles, laptops, etc. professionals use it as well as average Joes.
                                        people seem to forget that an SD card can let you transfer GBs worth of files in the easiest way possible. no cables, no computers, no Internet needed. just remove it from one phone, insert it on the other and that's it. I currently have 128 GB of internal storage and in about a year's worth of usage, that's already filled up to the brim. Sadly, my phone doesn't have SD card support so I use an OTG which, ironically, allows me to use a 64 GB microSD card which is almost full now as well. you know darn well I ain't gonna use cloud storage to upload dozens of GBs of photos and videos. data is expensive where I live and that would take forever.
                                        even if I want, free accounts on cloud storage is only 15 GB. my Google Photos online storage is nearly full so I stopped uploading anything. i'd rather pay ONE TIME for an SD card rather than pay EVERY MONTH for a subscription for cloud storage.
                                        people who keep saying SD cards are obsolete are ignorant. companies butcher useful features like this and the ignorant ones will just carry on and accept it. this is why OEMs get away with these like the removable of the headphone jack and even the charger in the box.