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

[jcp007]

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

Most were buying cards on a 16GB storage which had less than 6GB of free space. With the base 32GB model, almost 23GB free. If you need a tiny bit more, on the 64GB model, 54GB free.

Posted via My Samsung Galaxy S6 Handheld Device

 

[UJ95x]

Most were buying cards on a 16GB storage which had less than 6GB of free space. With the base 32GB model, almost 23GB free. If you need a tiny bit more, on the 64GB model, 54GB free.

Posted via My Samsung Galaxy S6 Handheld Device

Which phones had fewer than 6GB? The lowest amount available I saw on 16GB phones was around 10

Sent from my Galaxy Note 4

 

[berdinkerdickle]

I said the same thing.

Posted via the Android Central App

Then I like your post too.

 

[t11rmh]

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.

Agree with this. That oft quoted market research must have been very carefully worded as it allows Samsung to charge loads more for extra built on storage. I really want to do that as it's good for me. Or so I'm told.....

Posted via my kicking Samsung Galaxy A5

 

[jcp007]

Which phones had fewer than 6GB? The lowest amount available I saw on 16GB phones was around 10

Sent from my Galaxy Note 4

Maybe its closer to 10GB. Still not a ton of space and a few GB of apps, even less.

Posted via My Samsung Galaxy S6 Handheld Device

 

[berdinkerdickle]

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.

It's even more savings because we already own a $20 64+ gb SD card.
No need to buy gigabytes of storage every time you buy a new phone, because you already own an SD card.

 

[anon(5630457)]

It's even more savings because we already own a $20 64+ gb SD card.
No need to buy gigabytes of storage every time you buy a new phone, because you already own an SD card.

Touche.

 

[warpdrive]

It's even more savings because we already own a $20 64+ gb SD card.
No need to buy gigabytes of storage every time you buy a new phone, because you already own an SD card.

Totally understand, and agree.

BUT, as I've said you pay less but get less from it due to SD cards DONT store everything like on board flash storage. Even with Google's new policy, you won't be able to always store the entire app (mostly just app data and cashe) and when you do it's because the app has support to do so. But with flash storage, you can store everything without issue including rapid fire photography (something that you can't save to an SD card even back in the Gingerbread days due to the SD card isn't fast enough to record it.

So you pay more and get more. Or you pay less and get less. The choice is yours and it seems that many here who want this don't want large on board storage at all because manufacturers will not make multiple models of storage if they include SD cards (like LG with the G4), or limit the production so much like HTC (with the m9) that you'll never have a real chance to buy it even from the manufacturer.

The good news is that this is NOT Apple. This is Android. Together, but not the same.

So if you don't like multiple models of phone storage, don't buy from such a company like Samsung or Google's Nexus devices. Instead buy an LG G4, an HTC One m9, or a mid range phone like the ASUS zenfone 2. You can also always buy a low end model from a bunch of different manufacturers that are starting to come out and show us how with 8gb of on board flash storage with a 128gb SD card works out for you and convince us at how great this choice is.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[berdinkerdickle]

Maybe we prefer Samsung.
So we don't want to buy something else.
We liked the options we had, and don't want Samsung to continue this direction.
People expressed they wanted a more elegant looking device like Apple, and Samsung listened. Samsung also understood how no one wants to be a wall hugger, so they attempted to make the S6 stellar in battery life, but they missed the mark a bit. Now we are expressing the need/want/advantage of having expandable storage in addition to on board flash storage. That's all.
I wouldn't tell members posting here who want better battery life, better reception, or less bloat to go buy something else or 'vote with their wallet'.

 

[Aquila]

I wouldn't tell members posting here who want better battery life, better reception, or less bloat to go buy something else or 'vote with their wallet'.

I would. These companies do NOT care about user experience except in the connotation where user experience reflects on sales. So PR is important, image - but actual happiness as opposed to "meh, it's good enough and I'm used to it" look exactly the same in the PnL. Dollars drive decisions. The absolute least amount that can be spent by the OEM to get the most amount of sales before too much diminishing return takes over is the exact price point to aim for. If you can charge $100 for an $8 upgrade on the BOM, do it. Every time. Absolutely vote with your wallet, that's the only thing they're listening to.

 

[Zoostation]

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

I'm extremely surprised that each of the big 4 US carriers decided to carry the 64GB and 128GB S6...especially Verizon. Even more surprised that Verizon is retailing the phones at a lower price.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[berdinkerdickle]

I would. These companies do NOT care about user experience except in the connotation where user experience reflects on sales. So PR is important, image - but actual happiness as opposed to "meh, it's good enough and I'm used to it" look exactly the same in the PnL. Dollars drive decisions. The absolute least amount that can be spent by the OEM to get the most amount of sales before too much diminishing return takes over is the exact price point to aim for. If you can charge $100 for an $8 upgrade on the BOM, do it. Every time. Absolutely vote with your wallet, that's the only thing they're listening to.

But people post their concerns here, and we just answer with 'go buy something else' , how is that beneficial to the environment you want here in these forums?
Companies do listen or try to determine what their customers want, your S6 looks like an iPhone because supposedly that's what customers wanted.

 

[Aquila]

I think I like, "buy what makes you happy". If the S6 isn't that, something else might be. That seems valid. It makes perfect sense to wish a feature did or didn't exist to improve a design, that seems natural. The anger we see and obsession doesn't make sense.

M Dev Nexus 6 Assassin Edition. Android Central Moderator.

 

[berdinkerdickle]

I like that better also.
Just sounds a little nicer.

 

[berdinkerdickle]

So, here I am in these forums complaining about Samsung dumping the Swappable Battery, and Expandable Storage, and then I stumble across the thread about $150 off the N6.
Ha! I couldn't resist the price. We'll see how I like it over my Note2 that I've been packing for over 2 years. :-D

 

[thoots]

Oh, Geez Louise, such hand-wringing over this! I'm losing the will to live..........................

So, what exactly do you need more than 32GB or 64GB of memory for, above and beyond the onboard memory of an S6? And I'm figuring that not too many people are going to go for the 128GB version. Supposedly it's not good for gaming, so, for what? There's still lots of onboard room for quite a collection of MP3 music files or JPEG image files, so.... Must be for dozens or hundreds of video files, right?

I mean, COME ON, to what extent are you really going to sit around for days and weeks watching videos on a tiny little phone screen? Yeah, sure I want a 128GB card in my tablet, but on my phone? 32GB is plenty, though I did pop for a 64GB S6, which will really have all the memory I'll ever need, with plenty left over.

And if it's really just movies and media and such, there ARE alternatives to onboard MicroSD slots. Such as "on the go" USB drives like the Patriot Stellar:

http://www.patriotmemory.com/product/detail.jsp?prodline=7&catid=101&prodgroupid=270&id=1495&type=27

A tiny little USB drive that'll plug into any Micro USB port or regular USB 3.0 slot, and you'll be able to move it around amongst any devices you've got. And that'll be several million times easier than trying to pry a micro USB card out of your phone, and move it around amongst your devices. Or, speaking of MicroSD cards, you can also get very similar little things that have no onboard memory, but rather will fit any MicroSD card into them, and then move that around amongst your devices. Like this:

Micro USB to Micro SD Card Reader | OTGSDCARDRDR | Cirago

At any rate, yes, indeed, you just plug one of these things into your phone's Micro USB port, and your S6 will "see" it and you will have access to anything on your MicroSD card.

Sure, yeah, not quite as convenient as an internal MicroSD slot, but if you're just going to sit there watching videos, is something like this so awfully impossible to consider?

In the end, as compared to previous phones for which I filled 128GB MicroSD cards up with massive gigabytes of video files that I never actually watched, I just haven't filled up my 64GB S6 with massive gigabytes of video files that I'll never watch. And otherwise, everything seems to be going just fine, so far.

 

[Gator352]

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.

Google said on more than a few occasions that they wanted oem's to up the internal storage and ditch external storage because of security, but mostly because of performance issues.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Gator352]

Oh, Geez Louise, such hand-wringing over this! I'm losing the will to live..........................

So, what exactly do you need more than 32GB or 64GB of memory for, above and beyond the onboard memory of an S6? And I'm figuring that not too many people are going to go for the 128GB version. Supposedly it's not good for gaming, so, for what? There's still lots of onboard room for quite a collection of MP3 music files or JPEG image files, so.... Must be for dozens or hundreds of video files, right?

I mean, COME ON, to what extent are you really going to sit around for days and weeks watching videos on a tiny little phone screen? Yeah, sure I want a 128GB card in my tablet, but on my phone? 32GB is plenty, though I did pop for a 64GB S6, which will really have all the memory I'll ever need, with plenty left over.

And if it's really just movies and media and such, there ARE alternatives to onboard MicroSD slots. Such as "on the go" USB drives like the Patriot Stellar:

http://www.patriotmemory.com/product/detail.jsp?prodline=7&catid=101&prodgroupid=270&id=1495&type=27

A tiny little USB drive that'll plug into any Micro USB port or regular USB 3.0 slot, and you'll be able to move it around amongst any devices you've got. And that'll be several million times easier than trying to pry a micro USB card out of your phone, and move it around amongst your devices. Or, speaking of MicroSD cards, you can also get very similar little things that have no onboard memory, but rather will fit any MicroSD card into them, and then move that around amongst your devices. Like this:

Micro USB to Micro SD Card Reader | OTGSDCARDRDR | Cirago

At any rate, yes, indeed, you just plug one of these things into your phone's Micro USB port, and your S6 will "see" it and you will have access to anything on your MicroSD card.

Sure, yeah, not quite as convenient as an internal MicroSD slot, but if you're just going to sit there watching videos, is something like this so awfully impossible to consider?

In the end, as compared to previous phones for which I filled 128GB MicroSD cards up with massive gigabytes of video files that I never actually watched, I just haven't filled up my 64GB S6 with massive gigabytes of video files that I'll never watch. And otherwise, everything seems to be going just fine, so far.

Well, I'm glad it works for you. We are not complaining of the internal size and whether it's enough, because it actually is, but rather the removal of a feature we liked and used for various other different reasons that you stated.

Some of you guys act like you have to feed it. Take it to the doctor. Wash its feet. Pop its pimples. But Why not include it? It's not like you "have" to use it if it's there as a feature. But come on, SD cards are not the coming of the anti Christ.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jcp007]

I would. These companies do NOT care about user experience except in the connotation where user experience reflects on sales. So PR is important, image - but actual happiness as opposed to "meh, it's good enough and I'm used to it" look exactly the same in the PnL. Dollars drive decisions. The absolute least amount that can be spent by the OEM to get the most amount of sales before too much diminishing return takes over is the exact price point to aim for. If you can charge $100 for an $8 upgrade on the BOM, do it. Every time. Absolutely vote with your wallet, that's the only thing they're listening to.

I totally agree. After almost two months, I don't miss the card slot. If it is an important feature, then there are great alternatives like the M9 or the G4. This feature doesn't reflect badly and greatness on any device that excludes or includes the feature. It depends upon your needs and preferences.

 

[Zoostation]

I personally will probably be OK with the 64GB variant I bought, but I can sympathize with people who don't want to have to choose between plugging up additional storage and charging their phone.

Posted via the Android Central App