Samsung Finally Explains Why the Galaxy S6 Didn't Have a microSD Slot, but the S7 Does

[dgstorm]

Apparently, the main reason Samsung didn't include a microSD slot in the Samsung Galaxy S6 series, but they have in the S7 series was basically a technical limitation that they had not been able to iron out to their satisfaction with that device. Samsung exec, Kyle Brown, recently spilled the beans on this subject.

Brown shared that because the Galaxy S6 series was the first device in which Samsung used their brand new super-fast UFS 2.0 memory, Samsung engineers were concerned that a microSD slot would slow down the over-all performance of the Galaxy S6 because the data would be read slower. They were not able to find a way to marry the two technologies before they needed to launch the phone, so they opted to push forward with the device sans the microSD slot.

Since that time, and since the new platform has been perfected, Sammy's engineers were able to overcome the technical hurdles and get the performance ratio between the microSD slot and their faster memory architecture to cooperate better. Thus, they were able to bring back the storage feature in the new Galaxy S7 series. What do you folks think? Does this explanation sound plausible, or just an excuse?

Don't forget to drop by our dedicated Samsung Galaxy S7 series section for further discussion: Samsung Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge

Source: TechRadar

 

[realged13]

Sounds like good reasoning to me. I am sure they had expectations that they wanted to meet and so did the people behind the money. I'd rather them get it right, than rushing it into a phone and people complaining.

 

[PereDroid]

I call BS. Simply because they could have said that back then. They might have sold more phones, too. I had zero clue the S6 had faster memory.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I'm with Pere here. If that was the issue and they knew it was the issue back then, why not explain it to people? I'm sure knowing that the phone had faster internal memory and that's why they didn't think it was a good idea to add a slower SD slot would have been a reasonable trade-off to some people who opted to NOT get the S6 because they decided to remove SD support with no explanation.

I think they're trying to play damage control here and toot their own horns, but I think they're too late in doing so. Let's not forget this is a giant business that suddenly has the perfect excuse almost a YEAR later...

 

[johnomaz]

This is the kind of thing you tell your customers before launch. Give then a reason for removing it and don't let the rumors start and potentially lose customers.

 

[akhenax]

This is just a reason (because you neeed a reason) to get the S7 if you have an S6. Sammy wants your money.

 

[PereDroid]

And don't you think they would mention this super fast memory, oh, I don't know...at least on the Specs page of the S6 Homepage? I'm guessing none of you have heard of this high end memory before?


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[Jonny Kansas]

And don't you think they would mention this super fast memory, oh, I don't know...at least on the Specs page of the S6 Homepage? I'm guessing none of you have heard of this high end memory before?


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I almost think I kinda might remember hearing something about it right when it launched...?

 

[cr6]

I almost think I kinda might remember hearing something about it right when it launched...?

I do as well, but it wasn't something they really expounded upon. Which, I agree is quite strange.

 

[jackiescivic]

Both Samsung reps that I have had have told me this reason.

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[New2u]

I almost think I kinda might remember hearing something about it right when it launched...?

I remember reading quite a few articles and comments from those that knew about the new memory being in place. They stated the exact say thing that Samsung is saying now. The only difference was most people speculated that the new memory and the SD card slot were not compatible, but it seems as though they are, they just hadn't ironed out the kinks yet.

I think people has this mentality that all company's owe you an explanation as to why they are doing what they are doing... They don't. Some people were upset about the no expandable memory.. was this the cause of the S6 not doing as well as expected, possible, but as most have pointed out, that we are in a slump with mobile technology. Most of the new phones are pretty identical in terms of capability. One of the biggest issues right now is battery, and while the tech companies are doing what they can to conserve battery, it will take new batteries to be able to expand on certain things that they cannot achieve right now.

 

[PereDroid]

I don't remember any of this. And no Samsung doesn't OWE us an answer but, as I said: if they would have told us (and I challenge anyone to find any article from back then to prove it) it would have made a huge difference. NO they probably wouldn't have sold 100,000 more because of that... but maybe 10,000?

 

[cr6]

Most of the new phones are pretty identical in terms of capability.

Ummm.... not really. Look at this benchmark demonstration between the S7 & Note 5. The S7 annihilated it, and the Note 5 is still considered a fairly "new" device. Samsung Galaxy S7 INSANE Benchmark 3D graphics te…:
You make a good point regarding the battery.
One of the reasons the S6 didn't sell well (imo) was due to its terrible battery life. "Under the hood", the S7 is a dramatic improvement in so many ways over the S6. In terms of style and outward appearances, not so much. For me it's the internals that keep me coming back to Samsung ever two years, not what the device looks like.

 

[Batman8]

I also think that this is complete BULL!!! As many have said, this would have easily been something that Samsung could have explained back then. Not to mention that there was no SDcard in the Galaxy Note series last year either, and those have always been the models that I've purchased. Was that for the same reason?

I really think that Sammy decided to cut costs and remove this feature thinking that folks wouldn't care and would still buy their products anyway, but they found out the hard way that it DID in fact matter when sales numbers dropped compared to previous years. I was looking EXTREMELY forward to the Note 5 until I read about the lack of SDcard and removable battery. Being a gamer and playing several HD android games, I HAVE to have a large SDcard and a rooted device in order to store the 2-3GB data folders many games use and still have them read from external memory too using apps like FolderMount!! Having just the internal 32GB just never cuts it, especially when I also add in all my music and movies.

I'm now really hoping that they don't screw up the Note 6 this year. Since the Note 4 was so similar to the Note 3, I've been holding on to my N3 desparately waiting on the next great Galaxy Note...so come on Sammy and don't let me down this year too!

MOD NOTE: Edited for language. Bypassing the swear filter using symbols is still a violation of our guidelines.

 

[k1601]

O do remember when it first released hearing a very similar reason/excuse. Basically the transfer between the SD card and phone wouldn't be as fast as phone to phone so to speak. Whether it's true Idk but it seems semi plausible to me.

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