Samsung's 128GB storage is one giant leap towards killing the microSD

Samsung Galaxy A3
Samsung Galaxy A3

Many of us know the pain of running out of storage, but luckily microSD support has saved us from going through and deleting much of our precious data.

Samsung now wants to make microSD cards a thing of the past and has announced a new 128GB 3-bit NAND-based flash storage module aimed at mid-range devices.

Samsung previously announced a 128GB module for its high-end devices, as seen in the Galaxy S6, based on the Universal Flash Standard 2.0.

High definition media will be a breeze for the new storage as it can handle up to 6000 input/output operations every second, which is an estimated four times faster than that of an external memory card.

Bigger, faster, more productive

So far there has been no announcement of which device will see the new storage first.

The big story here is the roll out to mid-range handsets – Samsung has already used these in flagship products but it feels ready to up to storage across its range.

Does this signal the end of the microSD card? Internal flash storage is always the preferable option due to faster speeds but it's going to be quite a while until we see the microSD disappear completely. Still, it seems Samsung may be the one to lead the way.

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.