Data Storage: Why is microSD Making a Comeback in Smartphones, and Who’s Paying for It?

Hidden Savings: How Manufacturers’ Financial Schemes Work

For most companies, the cost of embedded NAND memory is one of the most significant costs in smartphone production. Upgrading from a base 128GB model to a 256GB or 512GB model adds significant costs. Although bulk memory is cheaper than consumer memory, manufacturers strive to minimize these initial costs.

• Base Price Reduction: The 64GB model with a microSD slot is more attractively priced than the 128GB model without, although you’ll still need to buy an additional card.

• Marketing “concern”: The memory expansion feature is presented as an advantage, when in fact it helps the manufacturer avoid the need to integrate expensive, high-capacity modules.

• Logistics savings: Companies can focus on producing one or two memory configurations, simplifying the supply chain.

Technical risks to the user: speed and performance

While microSD card expansion is an undeniable advantage, it often comes with significant technical compromises, particularly in terms of speed. Modern flagship smartphones use ultra-fast UFS standards (such as UFS 4.0), delivering read and write speeds hundreds of times faster than most memory cards available on the market.

Why is memory speed critical?

Memory speed affects everything from loading apps and games to recording high-resolution video (4K and 8K). If an app or the Android operating system is stored on a slow microSD card, the smartphone’s overall performance can drop dramatically. This creates a negative user experience, which the user essentially pays for.

Even high-speed cards like the A2 rating can’t match UFS 4.0 internal storage, the standard for premium devices. The speed difference is often felt as lag or stuttering when working with large files or multitasking.

Adoptable Storage Refunds and Reliability Issues

Early versions of Android had a feature called Adoptable Storage. It allowed microSD cards to be formatted so that the system recognized them as internal storage, allowing even system apps to be installed there. Many smartphone manufacturers have disabled this feature due to the cards’ low reliability and the risk of data loss. With manufacturers reintroducing microSD slots en masse, the question arises as to whether Adoptable Storage will return, and how willing they are to accept liability for potential failures caused by poor-quality cards.

Counterfeiting and security threats

The market is saturated with counterfeit memory cards that claim to offer large storage capacities, but in reality offer meager real capacity and dreadful speeds. Users who decide to save money and buy a microSD separately risk being scammed. Built-in memory, on the other hand, always guarantees the advertised quality and capacity, and the only thing that can fail is the smartphone itself, not an unreliable third-party component.

What influenced the disappearance of microSD in flagships?

It’s worth mentioning why microSD cards disappeared from high-end models about ten years ago. This was due to three main factors:

• Design: Every millimeter matters when creating thin, seamless, and aesthetically pleasing devices. A memory card slot requires additional space and mechanical components.

• Sealing: A slot is always a potential source of water and dust penetration. In the race to achieve IP ratings, manufacturers have opted to remove any unnecessary openings.

• The advantage of fast UFS: Manufacturers wanted their flagships to perform flawlessly, and a slow memory card could ruin that experience by causing speed issues.

Predictions: Will the trend affect flagships?

Currently, the microSD card’s comeback is primarily seen in the mid-range and budget segments, where users are actively looking for ways to save on memory. However, if the “cost shifting” trend intensifies, we may see it being adopted by some sub-flagship models as a compromise between price and functionality.

Conclusion: The return of the microSD slot is a double blessing. While it does give users more freedom, it’s primarily a manufacturer’s strategy to minimize costs and maximize profits, while also risking reduced performance and data reliability.