A very long time in the past, in smartphones that appeared very completely different, there have been SD card slots for increasing storage. That’s a long-lost function, nevertheless it’s nonetheless surprisingly simple to make use of exterior bodily storage along with your iPhone or Android cellphone.

The iPhone has by no means included a microSD card slot, nevertheless it was a staple in Android telephones for a few years. One of many final flagship Android telephones with an SD card slot was the Samsung Galaxy S20 collection in 2020. The function hasn’t fully vanished from Android telephones, however, by and enormous, it’s been deserted.

Because of the vast adoption of USB-C, nevertheless, it’s now very simple to make use of moveable exterior storage drives with telephones. Clearly, you’re not going to maintain a flash drive protruding of the underside of your cellphone 24/7 like you could possibly with a microSD card, however these storage drives are very simple to maintain with you.

The Decline of the SD Card Slot

Let’s rewind a bit and speak about why SD card slots fell out of trend. It’s not one thing we speak about as a lot because the elimination of the headphone jack, however there are some similarities.

At the beginning, it’s about manufacturing. Telephone makers claimed eliminating the SD card slot allowed for streamlined designs with extra inside house and higher water resistance. In actuality, although, it was more than likely for chopping prices. There have definitely been telephones with IP68 rankings that function SD card slots, nevertheless it’s cheaper to ditch it fully.

The opposite causes must do with how individuals use their telephones. Producers claimed individuals not often used microSD playing cards with their telephones, particularly as cloud storage grew to become extra frequent. They stated the identical factor about wired headphones, nevertheless it in all probability was extra true within the case of exterior storage. It’s not one thing most individuals want, at the least not on a regular basis.

The Rise of USB-C Storage Drives

The flexibility to make use of a USB flash drive along with your cellphone just isn’t new, after all. So long as you had the proper adapter, you could possibly do it when telephones had micro USB ports. However USB-C has drastically simplified the expertise. You don’t want a clumsy adapter anymore.

Transportable storage drives have gotten ridiculously low cost over the past 10 years and extra. You will get a three-pack of normal ‘ol USB-A 32GB flash drives for lower than $20. And since units with USB-C ports are so frequent now, USB-C flash drives have turn into prevalent and low cost, too.

Past worth, the final level within the part above is another excuse why USB-C flash drives are an incredible possibility. You in all probability don’t want an additional 32GB or extra of storage in your cellphone on a regular basis. If you happen to did, you in all probability would have purchased a cellphone with extra storage built-in. For around $10, you may plop 32GB of storage in your key ring or in your every day go bag, and it’s there while you want it.

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What To Do With a USB Flash Drive in Your Telephone

All of that is properly and good, however you should still be questioning why and the way you’ll truly use a flash drive along with your cellphone. In any case, in contrast to an SD card, a flash drive gained’t be in your cellphone on a regular basis. That adjustments how you should use it.

Knowledge Backup

Consider a flash drive for a cellphone in the identical method you’ll a conveyable laborious drive for a pc. You possibly can backup images, movies, downloaded recordsdata, and the rest you may wish to preserve safely.

File Transfers

And after getting some recordsdata on the drive, it’s a lot simpler to switch them to a different machine. Wi-fi file transfers will be gradual and unreliable, and also you won’t all the time be inside cable’s attain for a wired switch.

Media Consumption

Talking of file transfers, it goes within the different path, too. You possibly can switch music or motion pictures to the flash drive out of your pc. Now, you have got media that will usually take up an excessive amount of house in your cellphone to take pleasure in while you’re offline.

Skilled Use and Modifying

Possibly your cellphone is a digicam for images and video content material creation. Whether or not it’s a pastime or your job, a flash drive makes it a lot simpler to get these massive recordsdata off your cellphone and onto your main enhancing machine.

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So, whereas SD card slots aren’t actually a factor anymore, USB-C drives are a worthy alternative. They’re cheap and straightforward to hold round, and you should use them to again up knowledge, switch recordsdata, and eat media. If you happen to want a bit of further storage in your cellphone, a USB-C drive is a superb possibility.