Why don't high end phones have sd card support?

[Windows Central Question]

If there was a clear answer them it would help to prevent al kind of complaints.
For example the 535 can support a 128 G SD card. But this card cost about the same as the 535. But for the 930 this card is "only" a fraction of the 930 price.

 

[ven07]

I don't think we will ever see a change in this trend.. Some high-end phones will get it and others won't.. BUT users want the option to decide whether or not they need a phone with expandable memory option

 

[olirehacek]

My opinion is that manufacturers want from customers to pay more for models with bigger storage. Also there are a lot of really low quality memory cards and that can significantly affect the speed of the device itself.

 

[Reflexx]

I'm pretty sure it's the carriers. They want users to have to pay for the more expensive data plans to access their cloud storage.

 

[Harrie-S]

For reflexx
Thanks for trying. But that is not a answer. Low end have SD support and there are more people with a loe end phone than a high end phone.

 

[xandros9]

depends on design I suppose.

1520, ATIV SE, and the M8 have SD slots IIRC
930, 920 not so much.

 

[jmshub]

It isn't a single answer for every situation. Some companies don't want the slot for the SD card. Some don't feel like it's necessary in a phone with even 16 or 32 GB of storage, where the lower end phones NEED something to help when they come with 4 or 8 GB of storage built in.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I think it's a trend started by Apple. No iPhone ever supported sd cards, and many other OEMs have followed the trend set by Apple.

 

[Arkadeep Haldar]

Perhaps they do not want to compromise with performance.
Span of life of a sd card is decreasing every time you write on it. Moreover internal memory performs better than a sd card.

 

[tgp]

SD cards add to the possibility of glitches & data corruption. IIRC, the original WP7 did not support SD cards for that very reason. That may also be why Android deprecated SD card support, I don't know. Besides that, a royalty must be paid to Microsoft for all Android devices with SD cards.

 

[jmshub]

Perhaps they do not want to compromise with performance.
Span of life of a sd card is decreasing every time you write on it. Moreover internal memory performs better than a sd card.

The internal storage has similar life span as SD cards. It's the same basic technology. Although the quality of the storage can be controlled if the phone manufacturer chooses better NAND storage than the SD card company. But it certainly is a wild card if you sell a phone with an SD card. A person could put a junk card in the phone and compromise the stability and performance of the entire system.

 

[Bowlegz]

What are you talking about, I have a 32gb card in my M8!!

 

[Reflexx]

For reflexx
Thanks for trying. But that is not a answer. Low end have SD support and there are more people with a loe end phone than a high end phone.

Low-end customers are less likely to spend a lot of money per month on a bigger data plan.

High-end customers are the target for squeezing out more money.

 

[RumoredNow]

There are several camps of design, just as there are several types of user.

There are advantage and disadvantages to either side.

OEMs mix it up among all price points as to whether or not a Card Slot is onboard.

Except Apple. If you look at what Apple charges per GB for extra internal storage you quickly realize they are making a killing just on that one feature.

There are bargain phones without card slots and high end ones with. As a generalization this question does not hold up well.

If you look at your specific example: 535 vs 930 I think it comes down to design aesthetic. Spec point by Spec point 930 and 1520 are equal in everything except screen. Very comparable devices. One with microSD - one without. One with IPS LCD - one with AMOLED. One with a rounded edge, solid polycarbonate body featuring square corners - one with a very straight edge, aluminum ringed body featuring gently rounded corners.

Design philosophy makes the difference.