Notice something all the new Flagships have in common?

[JeffDenver]

All of them have Micro SD! It's back baby. Google failed to kill it. (2 of them have user-removable batteries as well)

The new HTC One vs. the competition: the battle of Android flagships rages on

The new HTC One vs. the competition: the battle of Android flagships rages on

Love the direction Android is going. Now if we could just get rid of Vendor UIs next...

 

[zorak950]

I don't have anything against SD cards, I just don't care for them. I prefer a nice, fat internal storage. I wouldn't be surprised if Google itself brings them back too, since they seem to be implementing fixes for the security issues SD cards caused. I do like removable batteries, but it's usually not a deal-breaker.

 

[Geodude074]

I don't have anything against SD cards, I just don't care for them. I prefer a nice, fat internal storage. I wouldn't be surprised if Google itself brings them back too, since they seem to be implementing fixes for the security issues SD cards caused. I do like removable batteries, but it's usually not a deal-breaker.

What security issues?

And you enjoy paying $100 for 16 GB more storage?

 

[Golfdriver97]

What security issues?

SD Cards Aren’t As Secure As We Think | TechCrunch

 

[Almeuit]

SD Cards Aren?t As Secure As We Think | TechCrunch

This.

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

 

[zorak950]

...you enjoy paying $100 for 16 GB more storage?

$50, if you mean the 16-32gb jump, and that's a strawman. Of course I'd love to get all the storage I could ever want for free, but I'm willing to pay for it if I need it. I prefer the straightforwardness and flexibility of internal memory to the slower access speed and inferior file system of a SD card. I do almost all my file transfers through the cloud, and for what little is impractical to do that way I just plug my phone into a USB port. I have no need for a physically removable memory unit, so I have no desire to deal with the problems associated with it. Some people need it, and I'm happy that they have the option, but I prefer internal storage.

 

[JeffDenver]

I keep hearing about how slow SD supposedly is...I have had my Nexus 5 for a while now and access speeds to not seem any faster to me from internal memory. I also had a Rezound before that, and I did not see any speed difference between internal and external memory. The same is true on my BF's Galaxy S3...so I call Shennanigans on this whole "OMG SD is so slow" thing.

Even if they were, there is still no downside to have the option of SD...if speed matters that much, just don't install an SD. Problem solved. You are gaining nothing by not having the option for SD.

 

[JeffDenver]

SD Cards Aren’t As Secure As We Think | TechCrunch

For the tiny minority who are concerned about that, they can choose to simply not install SD. Ta-daa...you are now invulnerable to the dreaded SD security vulnerability. It really is that easy.

There is no upside to removing the option for SD.

 

[zorak950]

You are gaining nothing by not having the option for SD.

There is no upside to removing the option for SD.

Did anyone say they didn't want people to have the option? And there is an advantage: it saves space, and hardware and engineering costs. You might as well say there's no downside to adding any feature: better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. That's all well and good, until you realize you have a device filled with hardware and software bloat you never use, made more expensive because it has all this junk which actually detracts from your user experience. Yes, there should be devices with SD support, but I and a lot of people don't need or want it, so isn't it okay for there to be phones engineered for other people's preferences, too?

 

[JeffDenver]

Did anyone say they didn't want people to have the option? And there is an advantage: it saves space, and hardware and engineering costs.

How much could it possibly cost if even the cheapest Android phones have it?

These phones are under $100 USD
Best 15 CHEAP ANDROID PHONES for 2013 - Under Rs.5000 to 10,000 Price

Obviously MicroSD is not that expensive...even dirt cheap phones have it.

 

[zorak950]

How much could it possibly cost if even the cheapest Android phones have it?

I have no idea, but the fact that more than a few phones don't have them obviously means there's a downside from the manufacturer's point of view. I suspect it has more to do with engineering than the price of the thing itself. If you have an SD slot, it takes up space inside the device, and you either need a removable cover or a door to access it. If you're looking for me to tell you devices shouldn't have them, I won't. All I'm saying is I prefer to not have something I'm not going to use, just like I'd rather my phone didn't have an IR transmitter, a radio, an antenna, and any number of other things. It's unlikely I wouldn't buy a phone just because it had a SD slot, all other things being equal, but I'd rather it didn't.

 

[LeoRex]

Well.... Considering that Google uses the Nexus line to show off their stuff, I'd bet against an SD card. Why?

Google Drive, Google+ Autobackup, Google Play Music, etc.... They want to show off those services. They want to show how you can have your photos and videos backed up automatically, stored safely, etc... Lose your phone? No problem... drop your phone into the wood chipper? No problem... your stuff is safe.... same goes for that huge music library you have (if you put it into Google Play Music).

Provided you have a reliable, fast network connection (which isn't always the case still), the cloud services are pretty seemless.

Now, sure, if I have a SD port in my Nexus 5, I'd use it.... but I would still rely on those above services. I had a SD card go on me... a good, top quality brand... luckily, I had backups of all the stuff that I lost, but it was still a pain in the **** and I stopped relying on it as much as I had.

 

[JeffDenver]

I have no idea, but the fact that more than a few phones don't have them obviously means there's a downside from the manufacturer's point of view.

...or maybe it is just an ideological thing. Or maybe they want to force people to pay more for phones with more memory.

 

[JeffDenver]

Well.... Considering that Google uses the Nexus line to show off their stuff, I'd bet against an SD card. Why?

Google Drive, Google+ Autobackup, Google Play Music, etc.... They want to show off those services. They want to show how you can have your photos and videos backed up automatically, stored safely, etc... Lose your phone? No problem... drop your phone into the wood chipper? No problem... your stuff is safe.... same goes for that huge music library you have (if you put it into Google Play Music).

Provided you have a reliable, fast network connection (which isn't always the case still), the cloud services are pretty seemless.

Now, sure, if I have a SD port in my Nexus 5, I'd use it.... but I would still rely on those above services. I had a SD card go on me... a good, top quality brand... luckily, I had backups of all the stuff that I lost, but it was still a pain in the **** and I stopped relying on it as much as I had.

I lost about half of my vacation photos/Videos when my Nexus 5 died on vacation. If I'd had an SD slot, I would still have all those photos and videos.

I have never had an SD card go bad on me. Not once. I am still using the 16 gig SD card I have from my 2009 Droid 1.

 

[LeoRex]

I have never had an SD card go bad on me. Not once. I am still using the 16 gig SD card I have from my 2009 Droid 1.

Good... but that doesn't mean SDs don't go bad... they do. That is why I'm a heavy cloud user... I use cloud storage to back up stuff on my phone, and cloud storage to back up a TON of stuff on various laptops at home. I wouldn't ever trust an SD card to be the sole repository for things that can not be replaced.

 

[JeffDenver]

Good... but that doesn't mean SDs don't go bad... they do. That is why I'm a heavy cloud user...

The cloud didn't save my vacation photos in the middle of the ocean. But SD would have.

The cloud is great but it is not ubiquitous. SD is there all the time, 24/7, even if you have no signal at all. Bonus: You can use both. They are not mutually exclusive.

 

[LeoRex]

The cloud didn't save my vacation photos in the middle of the ocean. But SD would have.

The cloud is great but it is not ubiquitous. SD is there all the time, 24/7, even if you have no signal at all. Bonus: You can use both. They are not mutually exclusive.

Those network services aren't of much use unless you have access to them, that is certainly true. And yes, you can most definitely use both.... but going off the OP... I believe that Google left a SD out of the Nexus for the sole purpose of nudging users to use their cloud services. It is the only logical explanation... Even cheap phones have SD card ports, and at the current price point, they could have stuffed a MASSIVE amount of local storage in that thing and still stay hundreds less than other phones.

 

[JeffDenver]

Those network services aren't of much use unless you have access to them, that is certainly true. And yes, you can most definitely use both.... but going off the OP... I believe that Google left a SD out of the Nexus for the sole purpose of nudging users to use their cloud services.

Exactly. It was not to enhance the experience. It was to force us to do things the way they would like us to. It was obnoxious.

It is gratifying to see that the rest of the Android world is ignoring Google on this issue.

 

[Geodude074]

SD Cards Aren’t As Secure As We Think | TechCrunch

Lol.

For those who live in fear, you can spend $50-$100 for 16-32 GB of additional storage. If you're really afraid of hackers and malware and other boogeymen on the internet, maybe you should migrate towards a more walled-garden operating system like iOS or WP8, where nothing can hurt you and everything is controlled for you.

For the other 99.9% of the population who've never experienced a security compromise on their mobile OS, I think paying $35 for 64 GB is more feasible.

 

[LeoRex]

Exactly. It was not to enhance the experience. It was to force us to do things the way they would like us to. It was obnoxious.

It is gratifying to see that the rest of the Android world is ignoring Google on this issue.

Force? How so? Are there armies of Google employees holding guns to people's heads so they buy a Nexus 5? Are they mislabeled... where people bought it thinking it had 64GB and "OHNOES!!! 16!!!" No. They just left out the SD slot... call in the National Guard... those bastards!

I use, willingly, all those services you say I am being forced to use and they work pretty good for my purposes. For some, it might not work so good... if someone needs to store 48g's worth of casting couch porn videos on their phones because their cabin in the woods doesn't get a data signal, they are free to get down with their bad self and buy a phone with expandable storage. Cool! Whatever works.

And Google has no f's to give whether Samsung or HTC includes a SD slot or not. If they didn't want anyone to have one, they control the operating system... *poof* no mountable storage option.... But they didn't. They, like every other software company in the known universe, modified things to patch some glaring, known and published security holes.