It’s out with the old and in with the new for the newly-announced Samsung Galaxy S21 range. While the range brings S-Pen support, new cameras and a brand new processor, the popular SD card slot has fallen by the wayside.
As expected Samsung is ditching the ability to expand the device’s built-in storage through a microSD card, just as it sacrificed the 3.5mm headphone jack for 2020’s Galaxy S20 range.
The decision means users will have to think more carefully when they choose between the 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage options when the purchase their phones, because that’s all they get.
Samsung held onto the microSD card slot for longer than many manufacturers as it sought to please a wide range of consumers, but now the decision has finally been made for all three devices in the range. The microSD card slot is gone.
Whether this is a turn off for Galaxy owners looking to upgrade their handset to a new S21 model remains to be seen, given the wide range of cloud storage options, but Samsung is willing to take the risk.
The decision comes as Samsung also ditches headphones and power adapters from the Galaxy S21 packaging as part of the company’s sustainability goals. It follows similar decisions from Apple (whom Samsung initially mocked) and Xiaomi.
Samsung says: “We discovered that more and more Galaxy users are reusing accessories they already have and making sustainable choices in their daily lives to promote better recycling habits. To support our Galaxy community in this journey, we are transitioning to removal of the charger plug and earphones in our latest line of Galaxy smartphones.
“We believe that the gradual removal of charger plugs and earphones from our in-box device packaging can help address sustainable consumption issues and remove any pressure that consumers may feel towards continually receiving unnecessary charger accessories with new phones. We’ve also been implementing standardized USB-C type charging ports since 2017, so older chargers can still be compatible with our newest Galaxy models.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
