Does Google improving SD Card Support Reflect Poorly on the Galaxy S6?

[jcp007]

With the S6 I would have said 1-2% of 1-2%, maybe. I really don't think very many people care. Say they sell 70 million, I think there might have been 10,000-25,000 more purchases had they included an SD card. Removable battery probably 2,000-5,000 more sales and on screen buttons probably 500-1,000 more sales.




Agree with this.

Agree with Assassin Droid on the impact of excluding the card slot and removable battery. It will take some time but unless you buy a non-flagship devices in the low end or medium price range, these two items are on their way out.

Posted via My Samsung Galaxy S6 Handheld Device

 

[cwise222]

SD cards have their uses and there is a subset of users that do need them. For some people online storage and back up isn't an option, WiFi isn't magically everywhere like so many people think, and backing up over WiFi can destroy a battery. I took a vacation last week and used the S6 only for photos to try it out and when I backed up the pictures with the Google photos app when I got back to hotel wifi? My battery went from 89% (charged in the car back to the hotel) to 11% in an hour and a half with Google Services taking up a whopping 77% of the battery. It wasn't a tremendous amount of photos and suffice it to say I will never use online back up again until Google can stop junk like that from happening.

SD cards have their uses, but mainly to power users. Samsung likely wants to push them to the Note 5, which I'm willing to be will have a removable battery and an SD card slot, so they can keep the mainstream S series going with key words like 'thin' and 'pretty'. That's what sells phones to 75% of the buying public. Also, SD cards would slow down the phone due to the advanced storage used in the S6.

Samsung didn't just go 'well, let's yank the SD card slot and call it a day.' There were market studies, consumer surveys, usage statistics studied, and who knows what else and it all pointed to Samsung not loosing a huge amount of sales from yanking the SD card slot. If you have to have an SD card slot then the S6 isn't for you. No shame in that and LG and HTC both make flagship phones with that option. Go with what works for you.

Google pushing more support for SD cards is not a negative on Samsung. Smaller OEM's in developing countries that make 8GB phones may have been pushing hard for it. Who knows. It's Android, there is a phone that works for everyone. Get what works for you and be happy.

 

[Gator352]

Like I said, Google photos for the win. Don't down load. Just open the image. It does use some data. But Google location services uses 10 times as much...and we all know that we shouldn't cripple our devices. *wink

The cloud is not that hard of a hardship if you use it wisely. Btw, I'm on AT&T and don't have unlimited.

Oh, and if you think it's hard to carry a thumb drive on your key chain then I give up. You win.

Posted via the zenfone 2

Yes! It's hard dang it! I got two large overbearing key fobs (wife's car, my truck) and a bunch of keys I have no idea where they go! Lol

I get your point man. No worries. I just prefer local storage. But times a changin' Google Photo's the best for what you described.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[t11rmh]

In a way I hope they call that bluff. I'd say 1-2% of Note users may choose something else for that reason, but I doubt it would even be that high.

I have a Note4 and if samsung does away with the SD card slot for the Note5 I'll be looking elsewhere. I didn't get a S6 for this reason and a sealed unit. Heard all the arguments before....

Posted via a kicking Note4 on Lollipop.

 

[jcp007]

SD cards have their uses and there is a subset of users that do need them. For some people online storage and back up isn't an option, WiFi isn't magically everywhere like so many people think, and backing up over WiFi can destroy a battery. I took a vacation last week and used the S6 only for photos to try it out and when I backed up the pictures with the Google photos app when I got back to hotel wifi? My battery went from 89% (charged in the car back to the hotel) to 11% in an hour and a half with Google Services taking up a whopping 77% of the battery. It wasn't a tremendous amount of photos and suffice it to say I will never use online back up again until Google can stop junk like that from happening.

SD cards have their uses, but mainly to power users. Samsung likely wants to push them to the Note 5, which I'm willing to be will have a removable battery and an SD card slot, so they can keep the mainstream S series going with key words like 'thin' and 'pretty'. That's what sells phones to 75% of the buying public. Also, SD cards would slow down the phone due to the advanced storage used in the S6.

Samsung didn't just go 'well, let's yank the SD card slot and call it a day.' There were market studies, consumer surveys, usage statistics studied, and who knows what else and it all pointed to Samsung not loosing a huge amount of sales from yanking the SD card slot. If you have to have an SD card slot then the S6 isn't for you. No shame in that and LG and HTC both make flagship phones with that option. Go with what works for you.

Google pushing more support for SD cards is not a negative on Samsung. Smaller OEM's in developing countries that make 8GB phones may have been pushing hard for it. Who knows. It's Android, there is a phone that works for everyone. Get what works for you and be happy.

For the most part, I agree but I share the mindset that believes that the GN5 will have multiple on board storage options and a battery large enough to satiate the biggest of power users. Would be surprised if the GS6 plus isn't spec'd the same minus the the digitized pen.

 

[Aquila]

I have a Note4 and if samsung does away with the SD card slot for the Note5 I'll be looking elsewhere. I didn't get a S6 for this reason and a sealed unit. Heard all the arguments before....

Posted via a kicking Note4 on Lollipop.

Welcome to the .0001% of smartphone users that let that be the deciding factor. By the way, as you already know, there's nothing wrong with making your own criteria for what you want to spend your money on.

 

[t11rmh]

Welcome to the .0001% of smartphone users that let that be the deciding factor. By the way, as you already know, there's nothing wrong with making your own criteria for what you want to spend your money on.

I just find it amusing that you quote these percentages with no source to back it up.

And by the way I also have a Samsung Galaxy A5 which has a sealed back and a SD card slot as a spare phone. So I might get a S6 next year as a spare to my Note5 (if I get a Note5 that is).

Posted via a kicking Note4 on Lollipop.

 

[jcp007]

I just find it amusing that you quote these percentages with no source to back it up.

And by the way I also have a Samsung Galaxy A5 which has a sealed back and a SD card slot as a spare phone. So I might get a S6 next year as a spare to my Note5 (if I get a Note5 that is).

Posted via a kicking Note4 on Lollipop.

He was using hyperbole to make a point.

 

[Aquila]

I just find it amusing that you quote these percentages with no source to back it up.

And by the way I also have a Samsung Galaxy A5 which has a sealed back and a SD card slot as a spare phone. So I might get a S6 next year as a spare to my Note5 (if I get a Note5 that is).

Posted via a kicking Note4 on Lollipop.

Totally just based on my earlier 1% of 1% post. It's not an assertion of fact, it's example of scale, in my opinion, of how prominent I think the mentality of letting one or both of those specific features make 100% of the determining factor in a purchase decision. It might be a little bit of a straw man, but there are 4 different kinds of people that noticed whether or not the S6 has an SD card:

1. WOW THIS PHONE IS AWESOME!!! I wish it had an SD card
2. Wow, that would have been a good phone, but no SD card, no sale.
3. That phone sucked, wonder why it didn't have an SD card - if it did, it might have been better.
4. That phone sucked, even if it had an SD card, I wouldn't buy it.

Or something like that. My assumption (underline that) is that those 4 combined = about 3-4% of the people who considered buying an S6. I also assume that 50% or more of the people who bought an S6 don't know what an SD card is. I also assume that most bought the lowest internal memory device available because it's cheapest. And I also assume that most who bought it had a galaxy prior to the S6.

I also, also, also assume that I don't care what the real numbers are - if it is higher or lower, doesn't really bug me. The point is, that I am of the opinion that the number of people who know and/or care about the SD card are ridiculously small compared to the gargantuan number of people buying Galaxy phones. AC is one of the largest (and IMO is the best) locations for nerds to discuss and read about Android tech, and we have somewhere around 3-5% of the volume of regular users compared to those buying Samsung devices every quarter. If less than 10% of (guess) of AC users are inflamed by the presence or absence of an SD card, then that leads me to believe that at best half a percent of Samsung users are also that fervent about it.

But the numbers are illustrative, not statistics.

 

[berdinkerdickle]

I have a Note4 and if samsung does away with the SD card slot for the Note5 I'll be looking elsewhere. I didn't get a S6 for this reason and a sealed unit. Heard all the arguments before....

Posted via a kicking Note4 on Lollipop.

It's easy inexpensive readily available expandable storage.
Why in world would anybody here support a decision to dump it!?
Maybe there was 'Market Research' that showed nobody cared if they had
easy inexpensive readily available expandable storage.

 

[Raptor007]

IMO the fact that Google is now adding better support for MicroSD reflects POORLY on GOOGLE. They killed support two versions back forcing app devs and OEM's to cut support as it was clear Google wasn't going to support it. Now they are doing a 180 and suddenly Samsung is in the wrong. NOPE! Samsung offered up an excellent design offered 32/64/128GB of storage where apple thinks 16/64/128 is the right (rip off) way to go about thing. Samsung could incorporate microSD again, but why should they.

 

[berdinkerdickle]

IMO the fact that Google is now adding better support for MicroSD reflects POORLY on GOOGLE. They killed support two versions back forcing app devs and OEM's to cut support as it was clear Google wasn't going to support it. Now they are doing a 180 and suddenly Samsung is in the wrong. NOPE! Samsung offered up an excellent design offered 32/64/128GB of storage where apple thinks 16/64/128 is the right (rip off) way to go about thing. Samsung could incorporate microSD again, but why should they.

I like posts that make sense.
Your post makes sense.

 

[warpdrive]

IMO the fact that Google is now adding better support for MicroSD reflects POORLY on GOOGLE. They killed support two versions back forcing app devs and OEM's to cut support as it was clear Google wasn't going to support it. Now they are doing a 180 and suddenly Samsung is in the wrong. NOPE! Samsung offered up an excellent design offered 32/64/128GB of storage where apple thinks 16/64/128 is the right (rip off) way to go about thing. Samsung could incorporate microSD again, but why should they.

I said the same thing.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jcp007]

I said the same thing.

Posted via the Android Central App

Agree with both of you but it's a win for both sides of the issue. There a ton of great devices out there to choose from. I just hope,that Samsung continues to move away from them in the Galaxy line though I expect one possibly in the Active.

 

[warpdrive]

Agree with both of you but it's a win for both sides of the issue. There a ton of great devices out there to choose from. I just hope,that Samsung continues to move away from them in the Galaxy line though I expect one possibly in the Active.

Samsung might not get rid of it totally. But I wouldn't hold my breath for the note 5. As I and others said, on flagships, almost nobody is doing it any more and with phones now having 32gb for the base model there is no reason for it unless the phone doesn't have other options like higher default storage as I'm the S6 lineup. (now if the note 5 only come in a 32gb model then it should have a SD card. But if it comes as a 64gb standard or as an option, then nope)

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[anon(5630457)]

They were able to make a better designed phone with 1) higher capacity models available

So you think people have an extra $100 to spend on the 64 GB S6 just to get extra storage? MicroSD card support on a phone should still be standard. If the S6 came with expandable storage, I could spend only an extra $20 to get a 64 GB microSD card (if I purchased the 32 GB model) instead of a $100 more to get the 64 GB version of the S6.

 

[MDMcAtee]

Totally just based on my earlier 1% of 1% post. It's not an assertion of fact, it's example of scale, in my opinion, of how prominent I think the mentality of letting one or both of those specific features make 100% of the determining factor in a purchase decision. It might be a little bit of a straw man, but there are 4 different kinds of people that noticed whether or not the S6 has an SD card:

1. WOW THIS PHONE IS AWESOME!!! I wish it had an SD card
2. Wow, that would have been a good phone, but no SD card, no sale.
3. That phone sucked, wonder why it didn't have an SD card - if it did, it might have been better.
4. That phone sucked, even if it had an SD card, I wouldn't buy it.

Or something like that. My assumption (underline that) is that those 4 combined = about 3-4% of the people who considered buying an S6. I also assume that 50% or more of the people who bought an S6 don't know what an SD card is. I also assume that most bought the lowest internal memory device available because it's cheapest. And I also assume that most who bought it had a galaxy prior to the S6.

I also, also, also assume that I don't care what the real numbers are - if it is higher or lower, doesn't really bug me. The point is, that I am of the opinion that the number of people who know and/or care about the SD card are ridiculously small compared to the gargantuan number of people buying Galaxy phones. AC is one of the largest (and IMO is the best) locations for nerds to discuss and read about Android tech, and we have somewhere around 3-5% of the volume of regular users compared to those buying Samsung devices every quarter. If less than 10% of (guess) of AC users are inflamed by the presence or absence of an SD card, then that leads me to believe that at best half a percent of Samsung users are also that fervent about it.

But the numbers are illustrative, not statistics.

I totally disagree.

SD cards have been a staple of Android phones and it's not like the technology just came out since they are used not only for phones but tablets and cameras... People aren't oblivious to what a SD card is.

Now, many people don't care I'll give you this but I will wager you if the s6 had both options available and people could choose either the one with the SD card would sell more just on cost alone especially in the carrier stores.

Let's not forget about storing raw images on those who go with the cheapest price of the s6... If and when the update is released for the camera.

SD cards are going to be front and center from now on and Google knows it with the capabilities of all future flagship phones which is one reason they have done a 180 on it.

There well be a good amount of people who have switched over from the iPhone because of look and feel of the s6 because it is very similar and first time buyers who don't know about this, but don't delude yourself by these so called market studies since most base their findings on inflated numbers and never get it right.

SD cards aren't going away, regardless of what some claim them to be since now most flagship phones can support up to 2 terabytes of storage. The speed of the top end cards is getting better too and for large amounts of additional storage still $ for $ still the best bang for your buck. Safety isn't going to be a issue as well with the new protocols in M when it comes out.

Posted via the Android Central App from my HTC m8 till my LG g4 comes in.

 

[LeoRex]

The biggest fallacy is that Google is trying to kill off the SD card. They aren't. They are just trying to make them more secure.... prior to KitKat, it was a wide open bucket of data and every process had full access to it. A new method had to be developed and it wasn't completed in the K time frame and it continues to evolve through L and to the next version, M.

They didn't change direction as far as their plans to support SD cards.... they are just developing a better, long term implementation.

 

[UJ95x]

So you think people have an extra $100 to spend on the 64 GB S6 just to get extra storage? MicroSD card support on a phone should still be standard. If the S6 came with expandable storage, I could spend only an extra $20 to get a 64 GB microSD card (if I purchased the 32 GB model) instead of a $100 more to get the 64 GB version of the S6.

Even the base model has 2x the capacity as before, and it was actually available on every carrier. That's more than enough for most people

 

[Kalvin Kerns]

IMO the fact that Google is now adding better support for MicroSD reflects POORLY on GOOGLE. They killed support two versions back forcing app devs and OEM's to cut support as it was clear Google wasn't going to support it. Now they are doing a 180 and suddenly Samsung is in the wrong. NOPE! Samsung offered up an excellent design offered 32/64/128GB of storage where apple thinks 16/64/128 is the right (rip off) way to go about thing. Samsung could incorporate microSD again, but why should they.

Yep. +1000

Posted via the Android Central App