The Real Reason Why Micro SD Card Slots Are Disappearing from Smartphones

[Hamp]

I know this has been discussed here both officially and informally on AC but I saw this article on Yahoo! Tech. Normally I don't troll Yahoo but this caught my eye as I was skimming another article. Interesting read even if most already know this to be true or not [yet].

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/the-real-reason-why-micro-sd-card-slots-are-118456089714.html

 

[Rukbat]

Looks as if this note 3 is going to have to last until Ara becomes a relity.

(If they want to remove confusing things from phones, remove Contacts, apps, GPS, batteries ... we get people confused about all sorts of things. A phone that has a 7 day standby, 24 hour use battery and just makes and takes phone calls is a lot less confusing. (And makes a lot less profit for the manufacturers - my 19 year old StarTAC still works.)

 

[Hamp]

Yeah, like you, my Note 4 may well be my Energizer Bunny!

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[Neo_ii_Droid]

Interesting article.

Excerpts:

Xiaomi’s VP Hugo Barra thinks that having micro SD cards slots in smartphones is a bad idea. Barra: “For high performance devices, we are fundamentally against an SD card slot.”

The reason that smartphone manufacturers are ditching micro SD card slots in their devices, especially at the high end, is money . . . they can charge a $100 for a few extra gigabytes of flash storage.

What Apple began with the iPhone, other manufacturers are now doing with their smartphones. And from a making money point of view, it makes good sense. A 128GB iPhone 6 costs the consumer $200 more than the 16GB version, but adding that extra storage costs Apple less than $50.

So to say that from some mentioned manufacturers of micro SD cards are "extremely poor quality," and "slow," well I don't know about that. Will see what the future market of smart phones bring.

Thanks for sharing the article!

 

[vbdwork]

It's all about business in first place. More internal storage - much higher hardware price. Not enough storage - more use of mobile data, cloud storage, online services, etc. Non removable battery - disposable devices. They want our money.

 

[Crashdamage]

Barra didn't say cards from name brands like Sandisk were poor. He condemned the cheap knock-offs.

There's several problems with SD cards...

1. The SD card market is flooded with counterfeit and off-brand cards on EBay and other sources. They may be just cheap knock-offs. They may be marked as higher capacity than they really are. They may have had a simple hack done to make them read as having a higher capacity. Reliability can be fair to nil. And speed ratings are worthless.

2. The antique FAT file system. Unreliable, slow, no support for user permissions, and no journalling.

3. SD cards, even top-notch ones, are slow and unreliable compared to memory chips.

4. Better wireless data speeds, wireless data access from more locations, and more and better cloud storage options are making cloud storage and streaming more viable and easier to use all the time.

5. Cloud storage and data streaming make money. Big money.

6. SD cards take up precious physical space.

7. Manufacturers make more money selling bigger storage options on the phone. A lot more money.

1+2+3+4+5+6+7 = Plenty of reasons not to include a SD card slot.

Time to face facts. The SD card is an old, outdated technology of questionable reliability and limited capabilities. It's past time to move on. In just a few years SD cards will be like the floppy disk - laying in the bottom of a junk drawer with nothing still working that reads them anymore.

I don't miss SD cards a bit.


Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[Angry_Mushroom]

I enjoy having an SD card slot of some variety simply as a method of bulk storage. While I can understand that running apps can be iffy from a card with lower-ish read/write speeds, blaming idiots buying crap knock-offs from Dollar General is hardly a great excuse. While cloud connectivity is getting better, it remains iffy for me, and I'd much rather have a local storage option for my pictures and music. And for that, I won't take chances with shady sellers with no feedback history. I'd imagine that sticking to mainstream channels is the best way to get something legit and of reasonable quality.

As far as "the real reason" goes. All smartphones are built on a series of compromises. Samsung went for quality and looks, but lost some functionality in the process. LG stuck to the old school methods of removable battery and storage. Sony and HTC found a happy middle ground I suppose. Call it a plot to charge the consumer more, but I think it's more of a packaging and marketing issue. Each company has reacted differently to consumer demands, and packaged their devices accordingly.

 

[A895]

I think it is crappy they are taking external storage away. I want to get an S6, but I am not giving up my 14+ GB of stuff on my micro SD.

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[vbdwork]

There's several problems with SD cards...

The real "problems" are described in 5 and 7. It's business and they want our money.

1. No one uses SD card to store secret services operation plans. We store pictures (often uploaded to the cloud), apps (that can be re-downloaded) and music (from our computers). If the SD card fails, we just replace it for $20. Not a big deal.

2. Most modern mobile OS read exFAT format. No need to keep the default FAT32.

3. SD cards are slower than internal storage, it's a fact. But what difference it makes when listening to music (320kbps bit-rate) or watching a video (3500kbps bit-rate is good quality HD with stereo sound)? Most SD cards read data with at least 4MB/sec, even cheap ones.

4. SD card is unrelated with wireless speeds and services. We can still use same services, with or without SD card.

6. Micro SD card and slot take us precious space? Seriously?

 

[Crashdamage]

1. There's thousands of posts on the internet of people losing critical photos and files to SD card failure. Even if you have backups it's a pita. Enough is enough. Time to scrap 'em.

2. exFAT is a minor improvement to FAT32. It removes the filsize limitations, but doesn't fix the fact that FAT is a crap filesystem.

3. Slow is still slow. It's 2015. Slow sucks.

4. If we can use wireless services with or without an SD card, what is the SD card really good for?

6. Yes, they take up space. Seriously.

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[vbdwork]

1. Users report internal memory failures as well. The whole device needs to be replaced. You can still try to retrieve damaged files from failing SD. Try the same with failing internal storage and good luck.

2. FAT32 is simple, reliable and cross platform compatible. All what is needed for file storage purposes.

3. Again, slow of fast - it doesn't matter in this case. You don't need anything faster than Class 10 SD card to store photos, listen to your music and play your videos. They will all work exactly the same from faster internal storage and slower SD card. The only difference is the price you pay. What good is a 600hp Ferrari in 40km/h speed limit zone?

4. SD card is good for cheap storage, backup and moving all your media files to another phone in 5 seconds. Take the SD card with your 32GB files from one device, put it in another - done! Even in case of phone hardware failure, you still get your files back. Not good enough?

6. Yes, you can have 20mAh larger capacity battery instead, good point.

 

[Crashdamage]

1. They almost never report memory failure like with SD cards. They report damage - dropped, wet, run over, stepped on, etc. Not failure.

2. FAT is bad and was always bad. If people would just get rid of it then we could all finally move on to something better.

3. Speed matters. Every time you load a photo directory with a couple thousand photos or open a large database file, speed matters.

4. I move everything around with cloud storage. Changes, additions and deletions automatically sync to all our devices and computers. Everything is always automatically backed up, up to date and fully cross-platform compatible. No copying files to cards or swapping them around.

6. Ask any phone designer how much every bit of space matters.


Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[Hamp]

My only flaw I find with getting rid of SD card storage is the most obvious: when you don't have access to the cloud! As wonderful as my Dropbox, Google Drive and Onedrive are, when you can't get to them in the first place, it matters greatly in times of need.

History has shown that when service providers are down, no data/internet connection available, slow, etc. all that storage and media is useless whereas I can access all my stuff on external storage without wondering when power will be restored to access the cloud mainframes.

We tend to think that the services provided will be there 24/7 and that's just not true. Natural disasters and man-made incidents have proven that! If you're going to take away memory card slots, at least leave USB OTG as an option. I know the companies want to make money, but it is also true that the consumer plays a huge role in how manufacturers develop devices based on consumer demands.

Just my two cents.

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[vbdwork]

1. Almost ANY serious hardware issue, internal or external damage, leads to lost internal memory information. You've never heard of SGS3 sudden death syndrome? Thousands of phones die every day from various reasons. SD card is a perfect backup option. Even if you run the phone over with your car or drop it from 100ft height, there is a good chance for SD to survive - fact.

2. What is so bad on FAT32 or exFAT? I see no technical explanation. You just repeat same thing over and over again. Computer OS used to run for years on FAT drives with no issues. All cameras use FAT formatted SD cards with no issues. What's the problem?

3. SD card is an ADDITION to internal storage. If you need speed, get a 64GB device and use internal storage. SD card will hold the rest and leave MORE free space on your internal storage. How come this is bad?

4. SD card moves 32GB in 5 seconds with no Internet connection or additional software needed. How much time do you need to move same data through your cloud services? How about moving your pictures to your camera? Does it have cloud services too?

6. Phone manufacturers want to sell you more services for more money. Designers do whatever they were told to do.

I really don't understand the argument about LOST functionality. No SD card support and no removable battery means one thing - disposable device. Manufacturers want to sell more devices, it's all about business.

 

[Hamp]

.... No SD card support and no removable battery means one thing - disposable device. Manufacturers want to sell more devices, it's all about business.

..and I don't consider a $300 - $700 device as disposable! Not sure why so many people get new devices every year/release cycle, but if my device(s) do what I need, then I'm good until I see a need to replace them.

But that's just me.

 

[vbdwork]

..and I don't consider a $300 - $700 device as disposable! Not sure why so many people get new devices every year/release cycle, but if my device(s) do what I need, then I'm good until I see a need to replace them.

You're right, but what you want is not good for the business. Every single thing you buy these days is made intentionally with specific life expectancy and it's getting shorter and shorter. Cars we use now last less km and break more often, home appliances last for few years only, electronics are made cheap in developing countries, QC control is often non existing (too expensive), etc. Even if you don't want to replace your devices, manufacturers will find a way to force you to do it. They want your money, remember?

 

[A895]

You're right, but what you want is not good for the business. Every single thing you buy these days is made intentionally with specific life expectancy and it's getting shorter and shorter. Cars we use now last less km and break more often, home appliances last for few years only, electronics are made cheap in developing countries, QC control is often non existing (too expensive), etc. Even if you don't want to replace your devices, manufacturers will find a way to force you to do it. They want your money, remember?

Then stop supporting companies like that. People keep rewarding these companies every year. People need to spend the time and research companies who actually make products that last.

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[vbdwork]

Then stop supporting companies like that.

What you get these days is lower quality products for a high price. Real quality items are extremely expensive. Can't afford a handcrafted Bentley made in England. Not yet. Have to drive my Chevy with 30% parts made in China for few more years. And Bosch appliances made in Germany are a bit too expensive for me too, had to buy LG made in Mexico.

 

[Crashdamage]

1. Almost ANY serious hardware issue, internal or external damage, leads to lost internal memory information. You've never heard of SGS3 sudden death syndrome? Thousands of phones die every day from various reasons. SD card is a perfect backup option. Even if you run the phone over with your car or drop it from 100ft height, there is a good chance for SD to survive - fact.

2. What is so bad on FAT32 or exFAT? I see no technical explanation. You just repeat same thing over and over again. Computer OS used to run for years on FAT drives with no issues. All cameras use FAT formatted SD cards with no issues. What's the problem?

3. SD card is an ADDITION to internal storage. If you need speed, get a 64GB device and use internal storage. SD card will hold the rest and leave MORE free space on your internal storage. How come this is bad?

4. SD card moves 32GB in 5 seconds with no Internet connection or additional software needed. How much time do you need to move same data through your cloud services? How about moving your pictures to your camera? Does it have cloud services too?

6. Phone manufacturers want to sell you more services for more money. Designers do whatever they were told to do.

I really don't understand the argument about LOST functionality. No SD card support and no removable battery means one thing - disposable device. Manufacturers want to sell more devices, it's all about business.

1. The failure rate of SD cards is far, far worse than Internal storage. How does that make them perfect for backups? For effective backups see #4 in post #12.

2. I touched on this a bit but not in detail. Not gonna 'cause I don't have patience now. Google it if you want more technical info. The problems with FAT are well known. It's slow, fragments badly, lacks journalling, corrupts easily - jeez it's an old dog of a filesystem. Worked fine in computers? What about all the infamous Blue Screens of Death in Windows 9x caused by failure of the FAT filesystem? Why do you think M$ replaced it with NTFS?

4. Files move around to all our devices and computers far faster than they could be moved around by SD card. And since my phone is my camera, why yes, I do have cloud services on my camera.

6. Of course everyone wants to sell stuff. It's called making money. SD cards don't change that. They're just another way to make money.

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[A895]

What you get these days is lower quality products for a high price. Real quality items are extremely expensive. Can't afford a handcrafted Bentley made in England. Not yet. Have to drive my Chevy with 30% parts made in China for few more years. And Bosch appliances made in Germany are a bit too expensive for me too, had to buy LG made in Mexico.

I rather pay the premium. Cheaping out only costs everyone more in the long run. And also, it may seem cliché, but buy things from American companies. You get better warranties and better support. And for American cars, the parts always readily available because it is made in America. As opposed to with my Infiniti, parts had to be ordered all the time because no one had it or to replace the damn headlight you have to take apart part of the engine.

For tech, Apple and Microsoft have stores nationwide which provide tech support and Apple and Microsoft have good online and over the phone support as well. Amazon also has amazing customer service. Hell, with some Kindle Fires you get tech support right on your tablet and they can help you then and there.

Again, it is cliché but buy American. Motorola doesn't count because they are now owned by a Chinese company who in two occasions have shipped spyware and adware on their computers, no thanks.

No telling what they do with the Moto X 2015.

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