Why more internal storage is better than an expandable storage on your smartphone?

When you buy a phone with high internal storage, you get a number of benefits which you won’t get with a phone that has expandable storage. While people generally go for phones with less internal memory because memory cards are quite cheap these days, what they do not realise is that they are losing out on performance.

There is also a misconception that memory cards let you store more apps. In phones having Android version older than the Marshmallow or Android 6.0 update, you can only store the least significant part of app data on the microSD card while the main app remains on your system memory. Therefore, even if you have a 32 GB memory card on a phone with 4 GB internal storage you will find yourself running out of memory, quite often.
In phones with Android 6.0 or higher this limit has been transformed by Google, so you can use the memory card as an internal storage device and install apps on it. However, there is a limitation, the microSD card cannot be used on any other device and inadvertently removing it will cause a slew of problems on your phone.

The disadvantages of using memory cards for installing apps

Although, the Google OS wants the microSD card to behave like your phone’s internal storage, it is not exactly the same thing to have. Here are a few differences,

Reduced Speed

The read and write speeds of an internal memory module are much higher than that of memory cards. Even with high speed memory cards, the performance of internal and external memory is not the same, as the device needs to go through the internal memory to access the data stored on an external memory source.

Compatibility Issues

The Android Marshmallow feature of adaptive storage is also marred by compatibility issues. It works on some phones and doesn’t on other. Thus, getting a phone with Android Marshmallow or later and simply hoping that your microSD card will work as internal memory is kind of a gamble.

Data Security Concerns

One of the major concerns with microSD usage is the security of your data. If you accidentally lose your device, then even with a device lock, the microSD data can be compromised. One alternative is using encryption, but in that scenario your card’s read write speed may be affected, hampering overall performance of your phone.

Data Corruption

External storage devices such as memory cards also face a chance of data corruption due to physical or liquid damage. Since they are not sealed as effectively as the internal storage, you may end up losing precious data without any forewarning.

In times, when we have Indian phone companies like Lava Mobiles, offering a range of high internal memory smartphones such as the Lava Z90, which comes with 32 GB of internal storage, it is unfathomable that you buy a smartphone with low internal storage. In case you absolutely insist on having a phone with external memory card support, the Lava Z series offers a number of devices with high internal storage, plus microSD support.