Is it back?
Mobile World Congress just kicked off in Barcelona and a number of flagships from world-class manufacturers have already been revealed. Last year Samsung removed, the microSD slot from it's Galaxy S6, which caused heavy criticism towards Samsung, because microSD was considered one of the main selling point of Android devices. Other manufacturers started doing the same, which led many to believe, that it's over for microSD. But LG didn't think so. It kept the microSD slot in it's most important devices, setting itself apart from other Android manufacturers. Last year in October OnePlus also reintroduced the microSD slot with it's OnePlus X budget phone.
Flash forward to this Sunday. Samsung revealed it's new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge flagships, both with microSD. Samsung being the biggest Android manufacturer has a huge influence on the industry, but Google, the owner of Android, has an even bigger influence. If Google brings back microSD with the newest Nexus phones it's safe to say, that microSD is officially back and it's still one of the key features of Android handsets over the iPhone. Even if Google doesn't bring it back it will probably stick around for a while, but either way it's not gonna be the future.
What's next?
There are a few ways we can use microSD cards, but we mainly use them to extend our smartphone's storage. It's an easy solution to a complex problem. You can extend your storage when you need it and don't have to sentence yourself to an insufficient amount of storage when you buy a phone. But it's FAR from being the best solution. It may be the simplest, but it has a lot of disadvantages. MicroSDs can be easily damaged, causing irreversible data loss. It's also an easy way for malware and viruses to infect your phone and read and write speeds also leave a lot of room for improvement.Overall microSD is not a good solution, but what could be a better one?
The obvious answer would be phones with higher storage capacities, but that would also be just a temporary solution. We will constantly need more storage and phones will not be able to keep up.
Cloud storage however is a much better option. Not only can you access your data from any internet connected device, but it also doesn't take up any physical space in your phone, freeing up some room for much needed battery. There are many companies like Google and Microsoft (with Google Drive and OneDrive), but also companies like NextBit (with it's Robin phone, that can offload data from your phone to the cloud automatically), that are pioneering cloud storage.
With cloud storage you can have virtually unlimited storage and data is also better protected from both physical and digital risks. While it may not improve on read and write speeds it certainly solves many of the current drawbacks of extendable storage and all you need is just a stable internet connection. And that is the problem!
I'm lucky enough to live in a city with 4G LTE and gigabit fiber-optic internet, but most of the world doesn't have this privilege. Even in the US the average internet speed is just 33.9 Mbps and many countries are much, much worse. Thankfully more and more cities are getting gigabit internet, but we still have a long way to go.
Cloud solutions will replace microSDs, but only after the majority of the world has fast and stable internet access.
