SD card for app installs or just media storage?

[czervik85]

Will it be possible to move apps to the sd card or can they only be installed on the internal memory with the sd card just for media storage?

If only internal memory is available for apps how much of it will actually be available for apps?

I'm coming from phones that have 500MB and 1GB of ram for app installs that is way too easy to max out. I'm constantly running into insufficient memory messages. Will apps that have no move to SD card option or apps that are suggested to not be installed on the external storage (launchers, widgets...) on my current phones still have to be installed on ram or is whatever is left of the 16GB after OS, touchwiz and other bloatware also be available?

 

[Raptor007]

There have been hacks on rooted devices that worked but there were indications at one point that 4.2.2 would make those unusable so I think at the moment the answer is no. As for available space it's likely 10-12GB.

 

[LoganK]

Will it be possible to move apps to the sd card or can they only be installed on the internal memory with the sd card just for media storage?

Like Raptor007 said, you cannot move applications to the SD card. (Unless you do some weird hacks.)

If only internal memory is available for apps how much of it will actually be available for apps?

I'm coming from phones that have 500MB and 1GB of ram for app installs that is way too easy to max out. I'm constantly running into insufficient memory messages. Will apps that have no move to SD card option or apps that are suggested to not be installed on the external storage (launchers, widgets...) on my current phones still have to be installed on ram or is whatever is left of the 16GB after OS, touchwiz and other bloatware also be available?

Android now has a unified memory that shares the space between media, applications, and system. There is no hard limit (like 500MB or 1GB) with new phones, and you will generally get 12GB at a minimum. You can still run out of space for applications if you fill your phone with a bunch of movies, but it's easier to conceptualize now: storage space is storage space. Deleting those movies will free up space for applications (which was not true in the past).

If you are a huge application junky, you could maybe use up a 16GB phone. However, many of the larger application (such as games) have two parts: the application and the data. The data downloads separately, and your applications will (generally) be smart enough to store application data on the external card if one is present. So buying an SD card can help, too.

 

[smooth4lyfe]

On my GS3 I have about 233 apps on my phone and I am not near running out of space. I have the 16GB version. Unless you download apps that are 1GB each, I dont see much of a problem running out of space.

If you want to back up apps and their data to the cloud, use this app called Carbon, its pretty good!

 

[WatermelonSlim]

So to answer the question in the original post..

No, you probably can't move those apps to the sd card. The available storage to install apps on the internal phone storage will probably be around 12 GB. That's probably way more than enough. Especially if you've been getting by with only 500 MB or 1 GB. 12 GB is probably way more than you'll be able to fill up with installed apps.

You can also install a Micro SD card if you want. While you can't install those apps you asked about to the Micro SD card (launchers, widgets, etc), you can use it for all of your music, movies, pictures, etc. Then you can use the internal 12 GB just for your installed apps.

 

[czervik85]

I ended up going with the HTC One. With just some of my apps I am close to 9GB. App to SD in a future update is not a satisfactory solution.

 

[OhAlfie]

I ended up going with the HTC One. With just some of my apps I am close to 9GB. App to SD in a future update is not a satisfactory solution.

Makes perfect sense. Buy a phone that offers no external storage capabilities ever, get it filled to near capacity (16 or 32?) and call it good. If you need more space, you just dump off stuff you like just to fill it with more stuff because you ran out of space. Makes perfect sense.