In the world of technology, many devices come with external storage options to allow users to expand the inbuilt storage capacity. One of the most common external storage options is the SD card slot. But what devices typically have SD card capabilities? Here is a breakdown of the most common tech products that include SD card slots.
Cameras
One of the most universal uses of SD cards is in digital cameras. The vast majority of dedicated digital cameras, whether simple point-and-shoot models or advanced DSLRs, contain a slot for an SD card. This allows you to save photos and videos directly to removable SD storage rather than the camera’s internal memory. SD cards make it easy to transfer images to a computer or other device simply by removing the card.
Different types of SD cards offer varying storage capacities. This means you can choose the size of card that fits your usage – a 16GB card for casual users or a 512GB card for professionals. One key benefit of SD cards in cameras is the ability to swap them out when full during long shoots like vacations or weddings.
Action Cameras
Alongside traditional cameras, action cameras like GoPro models also rely on SD cards. Their compact size means internal memory is limited, so SD cards are essential to capture high-quality photos and video. Like regular cameras, the removable SD card makes transferring your footage a breeze.
Drones
Consumer and professional drones usually have an SD slot to save all those aerial photos and video recordings. As drones can shoot high-resolution 4K or 6K video, using SD cards allows this large footage to be stored. SD cards are compact and light enough that they don’t overly add weight to drones during flight.
Laptops
Many laptops contain SD card readers to easily transfer files or expand your storage capacity. SD slots allow you to quickly copy photos from your camera without needing cables or adapters. Simply pop your SD card into the slot and access it like a USB drive. SD cards in laptops also let you permanently or temporarily expand the storage. This is useful for ultraportable laptops that may have limited built-in SSD space. Just insert a large SD card for extra room for files and media.
Chromebooks
Chromebooks run on Google’s Chrome OS, which relies heavily on cloud storage over local storage. However, many Chromebook models still contain a full-size SD card slot. Again, this allows for conveniently transferring files from cameras or drones. It also expands the relatively modest built-in storage space on Chromebooks, which often max out at 64GB or 128GB. Popping in a 512GB SD card essentially turns a Chromebook into a laptop with half a terabyte of storage.
Gaming Consoles
Modern gaming consoles from the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo allow users to insert SD cards to augment the built-in flash storage. This is useful for budget-focused consoles with minimal internal memory like the Nintendo Switch. SD cards provide a cost-effective way to store large game files without needing to purchase expensive proprietary memory cards. Many consoles also allow you to play games directly from SD cards, which helps conserve their internal storage for save files, updates and other system files.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch contains a microSD card slot under the kickstand, able to hold cards up to 2TB. This compact external storage is vital for players to store their game library, as the Switch only contains 32GB of usable internal storage. SD cards also load games faster than Nintendo’s cartridges.
PlayStation 4
Sony’s PlayStation 4 includes an SD card slot along with its 500GB hard drive. Players can use SD cards to store game data, media files, and save files either permanently or temporarily. This is a useful way to free up the console’s internal HDD storage.
Tablets
Tablets offer ultimate portability for media consumption and communication on the go. To help store all your photos, videos, music and other files, many tablets include either a full-size or microSD card slot. Top tablet manufacturers like Apple and Microsoft enable storage expansion this way, along with numerous cheaper unbranded Android tablets. Just like laptops, SD cards are an easy way to transfer files from cameras as well as permanently or temporarily increase your overall storage.
iPads
Certain iPad models contain a microSD card slot, such as the low-cost iPad 10.2. This lets you expand the storage up to an additional 1TB via a memory card. Even iPads without a card slot can read SD cards using Apple’s Camera Connection Kit accessory.
Surface Tablets
Microsoft’s premium Surface Pro tablet range offers full-size SD card slots. Again, this provides easy photo/video transfer along with essentially unlimited storage expansion. High-resolution photos and 4K video files can quickly fill up a 64GB or 128GB Surface, making SD cards essential.
Phones
While less common nowadays, some smartphone models still retain the good old microSD card slot. This enables you to expand your phone’s storage for more apps, photos, videos and offline music. After the OS and pre-installed apps, internal storage can vanish quickly – especially on budget phones. MicroSD cards are a handy portable backup as well.
Android Phones
Many Android phones from brands like Samsung, Motorola and Google contain microSD slots with up to 1TB support. However, Google has been pushing device makers to drop SD slots, so fewer new models include external storage. Still, mid-range choices like the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G retain the popular capability.
iPhones
Recent iPhones do not include any SD card slot. Apple prefers users to utilize cloud storage via iCloud rather than local storage expansion. Older models like the iPhone 5S did have microSD slots, but this is no longer the case. You need dedicated accessories to use memory cards with modern iPhones.
MP3 Players
Before smartphones took over as portable media devices, standalone MP3 players were hugely popular in the 2000s. Most MP3 players like the iconic iPod utilized flash memory and included SD card slots to augment capacity. Some models could also play music files directly from the SD card. Devices from Creative, SanDisk, Sony and others relied on microSD cards.
iPods
Earlier iPod Nano and Shuffle models included a built-in dock connector for SD cards and other accessories. Higher-end iPods like the Classic provided an actual SD card slot to expand storage beyond the standard capacities. This was useful for holding tens of thousands of songs. However, later iPods phased out SD support as internal capacities increased.
CD Players
Even some CD players contain SD slots to give them modern multimedia capabilities beyond just music CDs. You can add MP3 files to an SD card and insert it into these CD players to effectively have a device that plays CDs, FM radio, and MP3s from SD storage. This functionality extends the versatility of conventional CD players.
Camcorders
Full-size camcorders were the go-to video recording device before smartphones and action cams took over. Flash-based models recorded footage to SD cards, with higher-end units featuring multiple card slots for virtually unlimited recording time. Single SD cards could hold hours of standard definition footage. Most modern camcorders retain the same SD storage capabilities, alongside high-capacity internal hard drives in prosumer models.
GoPros
Despite their action camera label, GoPros are technically digital camcorders. All GoPro models rely on microSD cards as their sole storage medium, with capacities up to 512GB supported depending on the model. GoPros need high-speed SD cards capable of writing 4K/6K video seamlessly.
Audio Recorders
Portable audio recorders remain invaluable for recording music, interviews, lectures, and other sound. Most recorders today use SD cards rather than old analog formats like tape or mini-discs. SD cards allow extremely high-quality lossless PCM recording without any moving parts. This makes them ideal for field recording where reliability is essential. Brands like Zoom and Tascam now rely on SD storage.
Voice Recorders
Simple voice recorders from Sony, Olympus and others also utilize microSD cards instead of internal memory. Cards with large capacities can hold hundreds of hours of recordings. Voice recorders with SD slots are also useful for recording meetings, notes and verbal memos. The files can be offloaded later versus limited onboard memory.
Digital Photo Frames
Many digital photo frames include SD card slots to display images. Simply load photos onto an SD card from your computer and insert it into the frame. You can conveniently change the photos being displayed by swapping SD cards. Models with Wi-Fi can also load images wirelessly. SD support allows these devices to eliminate messy cabling and the need for image uploads.
Smart TVs
Certain smart TVs feature SD card slots along with apps to view media, like photos, videos and music. Files load directly from the SD card inserted into the TV. This provides easy offline viewing without the need for network streaming or external storage devices. It essentially uses your SD card to bring media capabilities to a TV lacking streaming features.
Tablets
Tablets offer ultimate portability for media consumption and communication on the go. To help store all your photos, videos, music and other files, many tablets include either a full-size or microSD card slot. Top tablet manufacturers like Apple and Microsoft enable storage expansion this way, along with numerous cheaper unbranded Android tablets. Just like laptops, SD cards are an easy way to transfer files from cameras as well as permanently or temporarily increase your overall storage.
iPads
Certain iPad models contain a microSD card slot, such as the low-cost iPad 10.2. This lets you expand the storage up to an additional 1TB via a memory card. Even iPads without a card slot can read SD cards using Apple’s Camera Connection Kit accessory.
Surface Tablets
Microsoft’s premium Surface Pro tablet range offers full-size SD card slots. Again, this provides easy photo/video transfer along with essentially unlimited storage expansion. High-resolution photos and 4K video files can quickly fill up a 64GB or 128GB Surface, making SD cards essential.
GPS Devices
Dedicated GPS navigation units from Garmin, TomTom and others rely on SD cards for map data storage. More detailed maps with 3D terrain or traffic data require significantly more space versus simplistic 2D road maps. SD cards provide an easy way to load large supplemental map data packs onto GPS devices.
Dash Cams
Vehicle dash cams need SD cards to record driving footage, collisions and any accidents. Constant loop recording generates huge amounts of data, so high-endurance SD cards are ideal. Large 256GB+ cards allow continuous recording without running out of space. SD cards also make accessing and sharing footage easy.
Printers
Many photo printers like Canon’s Selphy line contain SD card slots for direct printing. This allows you to print photos instantly without needing a computer. The printer accesses and prints your images directly from the inserted SD card. Some printers support scanning to SD cards too.
Projectors
A number of pico and portable projectors include an SD card slot for loading presentations, videos, photos and other media files. Instead of cables, you can pop the SD card out of your camera and straight into the projector. Some models also allow screen mirroring alongside physical SD playback.
Car Media Players
Aftermarket car media receivers often include SD support alongside radio, Bluetooth and other entertainment options. You can load music, audiobooks, podcasts and other audio onto an SD card for playback in your car. This saves you having to burn CDs or rely on a smartphone. GPS units designed for in-car use also utilize SD cards.
Conclusion
As you can see, the versatility and convenience of SD cards have seen them incorporated into a diverse range of consumer electronics. For portable gadgets, an SD slot provides removable storage that is compact and affordable. In fixed devices, SD support enables transferring files from cameras as well as expanding onboard storage. While cloud backups reduce the need for physical media, SD cards retain an advantage in speed, reliability, privacy and generous capacities up to 2TB. For now at least, the SD card slot remains a fixture in cameras, laptops, drones and many other tech gadgets.
