Re: What's the actual *advantage* of HAVING an sd slot?

On Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:42:48 +0200, R.Wieser wrote :

You *claim* to have a 64GB phone that works well for you, but refuse to name
it - while at the same time keep throwing conspiracy theories up about both
Apple and all of Android (regardless of the company which makes the
hardware).
 
That won't do.

Hi Rudy, (this is a newer, nicer version of me, ala Carlos, but still me)

Thank you for saying I've never posted what my phone was, and yet, in this
very thread, I posted exactly what it is, ph, about a half dozen times.

And, I've been posting what it is, ever since April of 2021 when I got it.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/Xq5SpS4D/tmopromo02.jpg>
So I sincerely apologize that you missed all that. I am sorry for you.

To post it again, it's a free "el cheapo" Samsung Galaxy A32-5G, which I
got five of from T-Mobile, only having to pay the tax on the $180 MSRP.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/YC1B906F/tmopromo01.jpg>

Since you're so curious, and since the Apple people are on this thread,
please do take note that I also got an iPhone 12 in that deal,
but that I had to pay half price for, with a trade-in of another iPhone.

And, that iPhone, unlike the half dozen Android phones, had to be replaced.
Because the battery sucks in all iPhones, and particularly in that one.

Luckily, my 64GB phone has a whoppingly huge 5AH battery which, let's just
say, puts every iPhone battery ever sold to utter shame - rightly so.

The only reason Apple puts such crappy batteries in the iPhone is to drive
sales of the next model of the iPhone because their batteries will die.

I hope this helps you better understand the provenance of my Android phone.
And it should help you understand why I also have iPhones & iPads too!

Since you're so curious about my setup, here's my bill for six devices:
 <https://i.postimg.cc/nhpbcP50/tmopromo04.jpg>

Note two of those devices are iPads with 200MB/month cellular for life.
Also note I've purchased two more iPads since then & Android tablets.

Let me know please if you need more information about my personal setup.

Besides, you are still refusing to engage on anything we say that
contradicts your ideas, while you keep repeating those ideas as if you where
a broken record.
 
As I said, I have no wish to have another ride in that merry-go-round of
yours.

Hi Rudy,

I apologize if you missed my explanation, multiple times in this thread,
so I will patiently describe my use model, which I state is *impossible*
to reproduce with any amount of money without using portable storage.

Given the user can partially reproduce what we can do with portable storage
by using external physical drives or the cloud - this means people are
forced to scramble to find some other way to partially replace the lost
functionality of the portable storage slot.

In addition, of course, as Arno initially noted, people can pay through the
nose for additional internal storage (at grossly inflated prices of
course), to partially ameliorate the lost functionality of the sd slot.

This is, of course, find and dandy, as long as people realize that the
strategy of Google/Apple (and most high-end Samsungs) of removing the
portable functionality is to funnel users into more expensive workarounds.

BTW: The argument for the aux jack is the same as that for the sd card.
1. A device without it is *always* inferior (assuming all else equal)
2. They removed it for one reason only - which is for their profits
3. The user *always* loses because it's *impossible* to replace
4. But the user has to buy some of the functionality back (at a price)

Given I have over a thousand packages easily installed on 64GB, my
position, based on long experience, is that the inexpensive 64GB is plenty
of internal storage for a modern smartphone today if it has an sd slot.

But 64GB is not even close to enough internal storage if you own an
Apple/Google phone (or a high-end Samsung) all of which are designed on
purpose to NOT have the industry standard basic portable storage
functionality - because they want to funnel whales into purchasing either
expensive overpriced internal storage or long-term cloud storage
subscriptions. Apple/Google/Samsung are not stupid.

The only reason for removing the sd slot is to force the consumer to
scramble to buy some of the functionality back (which costs them money).

Which is the *only reason* Google/Apple/Samsung removed basic hardware.

And yet, it's *impossible* to completely replace that lost functionality.
a. Device internal storage does *not* do what portable storage can do
b. The cloud can't possibly replace portable storage lost functionality
c. Exterior storage drives (with or without cables) can't replace it either

It's *impossible* to fully replace portable storage functionality.
A. Google/Apple hope you'll *try* by buying *expensive* internal storage
B. Google/Apple hope you'll *try* by buying immense cloud storage
C. Many people *try* by adding external drives (with or w/o cables)

As an example of basic functionality portable storage provides the user...
1. I received a handful of free 64GB Galaxy A32-5G's from T-Mobile in 2021
2. I immediately added 64GB sdcards to all of them (vol label 0000-0001)
3. I broke one phone & it was replaced under warranty by T-Mobile;
   then I broke that replacement phone, and it was replaced, for free.
   Each time, since the homescreen & APKs are stored on the sdcard,
   I popped the old sdcard into the new phone to reclone the phone.
   a. Without the Internet
   b. Without external thumb drives (or NAS)

In addition, as another example, once I had the homescreen set up nicely...
1. I copied the sdcard to the sdcards for the other phones in the household
2. And set up the homescreen and apps accordingly (just as with the first)
3. In effect, cloning the original phone onto as many phones as I like
   a. Without the Internet
   b. Without external thumb drives (or NAS)

As yet another example of basic functionality portable storage provides...
1. At some point, sd cards got cheaper (which is what they are wont to do)
2. Hence, I wanted to double the portable storage on each device
3. I used the process above to double the portable storage on each device
   a. Without the Internet
   b. Without external thumb drives (or NAS)

As long as the volume label is maintained the same, the phone has no
idea you just doubled, or tripled, or quadrupled the portable storage.

Hence, the beauty of portable storage, is the portability of it all.

As sd card storage gets cheaper, you expand your device portable storage.

There's no need to buy a new phone with expensive internal storage since
64GB is all the storage I need to easily hold over a thousand apps today.

Now do you see why Apple/Google strategically removed the sd card slot?

A phone without the sd slot is *always* going to be an inferior phone.
And, if you want to replace the lost functionality, it will cost you MONEY.
Even so, over time, that phone will need to be replaced more often.

Google/Apple aren't stupid.
Actually, they're brilliant.

They removed basic industry-standard functionality to drive their profits.
There is no other reason for a phone to NOT have portable storage.

Because a phone w/o portable storage is *always* less functional.
(all else being equal)

a. IP ratings appear to be similar on phones with it and without it
b. Prices are *always* more expensive (MB:MB) for phones without it
c. A phone w/o portable storage can not do what a phone with it can
   (yet, a phone w/ portable storage can do everything a phone w/o it can)

So internal storage is good... but...
a. It costs an arm & a leg (compared to portable storage), and,
b. It can't do what portable storage does

For example, internal storage can't grow over time.
Portable storage can.

I have nothing against internal storage *except* that it doesn't do what
portable storage does, and, worse, internal storage (while faster & more
reliable) certainly costs a *lot* more than equivalent portable storage
costs.

So internal storage is good... but...
a. It costs an arm & a leg (compared to portable storage), and,
b. It can't do what portable storage does

For example, internal storage can't grow over time.
Portable storage can.

Internal storage can't be popped into a handful of phones to populate them.
And it can't be transferred to a new phone like portable storage can.

Not without the clusterfuck of the cloud or cables or thumb drives.
If you think there is something missing in my analysis above, let me know.

In summary, I hope I've addressed all your concerns in this single response
(all of which were previously address in this thread elsewhere).

If you still have questions for me, please don't hesitate to ask.