Will a micro SD card make your tablet faster?

Last Updated on June 7, 2022 by Ernests Embutnieks

We carry tablets almost everywhere, and our dependency keeps increasing on these gadgets. But what if, in a meeting, over a video call, while you’re editing a video or photo, your tablet starts lagging or becomes sluggish.

It is the most frustrating condition, which we can only realize when we go through it. Now the question arises here how to deal with such a situation?

The answer to this question is complex; you need to work around it. Many components can make a tablet faster, such as Processor, Ram, GPU, Chipset, internal storage, and a memory card.

What factors make a tablet faster?

We are very aware of how a processor can make a tablet or other device faster as the processor is the brain of the device, so it must be capable of handling many tasks at once.

Ram and GPU further support this processing power. iPad Pro is the most significant example, as its M1 chip provides 8 core CPU and 8 core CPU, which can perform 11 trillion functions per second, which is a huge number. 

So, we can conclude that factors that make a tablet faster are Chipset, CPU, GPU, RAM, battery, and network connectivity.

But have you ever wondered what if we do not have complementing storage options available such as internal storage or microSD storage? Both the storage plays a vital role in the speed of a tablet, as they help it perform fast read/write operations.

Suppose you have a tablet with top-notch processing power, ram, battery and high-end network connectivity. Still, the tablet’s full speed is useless if you cannot access your photos or upload them over cloud storage due to its sluggish storage component. For this reason, a fast-internal storage device or a microSD card is indispensable.

How does a microSD Card make a tablet faster?

Having a microSD card slot in the tablet helps us in a couple of ways, as it increases the tablet’s storage capacity and helps us transfer our data from one device to another.

We can quickly transfer files over the microSD card, which includes but is not limited to:

1. Apps
2. Music
3. Pictures
4. Videos
5. Messages
6. Installation files

Once we have transferred the files over a microSD card, our tablet starts working faster because we will free up internal memory space, which will help to improve our tablet’s performance. But it is equally essential that our SD card support fast read and write operations to match the tablet’s processing power.

Apart from its storage capability, we can install apps over the microSD card. If the card allows us fast to read and write functionality, the speed of apps installed over the microSD card also increases. 

The advantage of storing data over a microSD card.

Adding an SD card to the tablet can provide us with several advantages. To offer you a clear picture, we mention some of them here.

• Extended Storage: The primary reason for using an SD card is to extend the internal storage. As the tablets have limited storage offering so, in this case, adding an SD card is a pretty straightforward solution to gain extra space.
• Pocket Friendly: We like adding an SD card to our tablet because going for a tablet with more extensive internal storage is much more costly. On the other hand, SD cards with larger storage capacity are still a cheaper deal.

• Reduced memory consumption: Having an SD card on the tablet means we have two options to store our files, such as music, videos, documents, etc. It depends on what type of files we like to keep on the SD card and which one is on the internal storage. It will reduce our dependency on internal storage, and our tablet can work faster. 

• Portability and Removable: Another advantage of using an SD card is its portability. We can copy all our relevant documents, files, music, videos, photos, etc., and carry them anywhere.
• Less Power Requirement: Compared to the USB flash drive, an SD card requires less power, so it is good to use it with battery-powered devices such as tablets or smartphones.
• Easy Accessibility: We can easily access an SD card; all we need is a card reader. If we want to see the data over an SD card that we have ejected from a tablet, then by connecting it with the card reader, the data is easily accessible.
• Non-volatile Memory: The data present over the SD card can be accessible even after a power cycle. It means the data does not need to be refreshed regularly.

Is there any disadvantage to storing items on a microSD card?

 Using a microSD card gives us a lot of benefits, from storage expansion to moving data between the devices. But using an SD card as primary storage or storage for different apps sometimes involves us in unexpected performance issues.

Here are some of the disadvantages or conditions which involve us in unforeseen issues.

• Reduced Speed: Although the intention of using the SD card is to gain performance by extending the storage capacity, the SD card itself sometimes becomes the cause of performance degradation. When we use a low-quality card or place a lot of apps or data onto the SD card, it will increase the loading time and decrease the refresh rate and sync speed. For storing files, photos, videos, and music on an SD card, we can go with UHS-1 and Class 10; if we have planned to install the apps over the SD cards, then A1 or A2 should be our choice. 

• Missing shortcuts and lost saved passwords: A significant disadvantage of installing apps on the SD card is missing shortcuts from the home screen, and even worse, the app is crippled upon the removal of the SD card.  Assume how frustrating this situation could be if our device forgets all the saved passwords of apps installed over an SD card often?  

• Searching for a file is chaotic: If you access the storage option over your tablet, you will come to know that the tablet manages both the storages internal and SD card as a separate entity which means, at times, it becomes tough to find a file which you have downloaded from chrome or an image which you have clicked with a picture editing app. Suppose you carefully look into the storage options for your tablet. In that case, you will know that it has a similar folder structure for both the storage internal and SD card, which is quite confusing when you are in a hurry and want to find a file instantly.It is also challenging to manage and remember which app uses internal storage to save their files and which app uses the SD card. It will decrease our productivity.  

• Sudden failure of SD card: Although SD card gives us several advantages, we must remember that it is a small amount and size of memory that is unreliable compared to the internal storage. It has very few read/write cycles which decreases every time we access data. The life span of the SD card also depends upon the quality and manufacturer standard. An SD card from a renowned brand like SanDisk may live longer than an unknown brand card. Another thing that we need to keep in mind is that an SD card never gives us any alarm before a failure or crash, so we can end up losing all our precious data in no time.

• Device Migration is a problem: Another problem with the SD card is that we can not use it just like a USB flash drive to migrate data and apps. Suppose we try to move one tablet data into another one. In that case, we may lose everything because when we set up an SD card as local storage to one device, the SD card becomes encrypted, which does not allow us to use the card across devices. Before using the new device, we must format it to remove the old file structure. But remember, this will affect the life span of the SD card. 

• Reduced Gaming Performance: Some tablets support giant MicroSD cards (up to 1 TB), such as Samsung tablets and people like to use them for storing games, but this is never a good idea. Even the top of the class SD cards (A1 class 10) will never match the performance requirements of modern-day gaming. So, you will end up with gameplay glitches, reduced graphics, and frequent crashes. 

• Break Easily: The most significant risk associated with SD cards is their fragileness. It can break easily due to the manufacturing material. Once it is damaged, you can imagine the situation you will face.

How to check whether a tablet supports a microSD card or not?

When buying a new tablet, it is straightforward that you can check the microSD slot option availability over the box. But if you have purchased an old tablet, you can confirm the SD card support with the help of the physical verification.

Usually, the microSD card slot is available on the top left side of the tablet frame, but this depends on the manufacturer’s convenience. Some tablets with the sim option have SD card support on the same jack.

Additionally, we can see the SD card information in the memory section of the tablet. All we need to access the file manager from here we can see whether an SD card is inserted or not and what is the memory available over the SD card. 

How do you store your files on a microSD card?

Having a MicroSD card is a blessing in itself. We can store a variety of data over the SD card. There are two ways of storing the data.

• Directly save the data with the help of any app.
• Transferring the data from internal memory to the SD card

We set the SD card as our preferred storage location in the apps in the first method. So, whenever the defined app stores the data, it will store it directly on the SD card.

The second method allows us to store the data over the internal memory, and once we have inserted the microSD card, we can transfer the specific files to it. Even we can move some apps on the microSD card. 

Can I save movies and music on an SD card?

Tablet comes with a variety of storage capacities from 32GB to 2TB. If you are one of the persons who love to store most of your data offline, then there is a possibility that even 2TB storage will not be enough for you.

For this purpose, an SD card is a good solution as you can transfer most of the files over it and free up space on the internal memory. These files could be movies, music, videos, games, etc.

The significant advantage of storing files over the SD card is we can enjoy our favorite movies or music even on the go (on road trips, picnics, parks, etc.).

Is it possible to install apps on a microSD card?

Yes, installing the apps over the microSD card is undoubtedly possible. Still, we need to consider that, at times, the microSD card itself becomes a cause of performance degradation of the tablet as it could not cope with the requirements of modern-day gaming and processing power.

For installing the app over the microSD card, we have two options available such as:

• Either we can directly install the app over the SD card
• Transfer the app from internal storage to the SD card

We select the preferred location as an SD card in the first method while downloading and installing the app. But for the second method, we go to the Settings → Apps, pick the app we want to transfer, choose the storage like an SD card, and press Move.

Remember, we can only perform this operation on the app which supports running from the SD card, but the app crashing risk will always remain with this activity.

The good thing is if you want to reverse the process, you are allowed to do so.

Various Tablets with microSD slot

Most manufacturers realize the need for the expandable storage capacity, due to which they are offering microSD card support. Some of the popular tablets with MicroSD card support are listed below: 

Tablet Name	SD Card Capacity
Samsung A7	MicroSD 1 TB
Samsung A8	MicroSD 1 TB
Samsung S8	MicroSD 1 TB
Samsung S8+	MicroSD 1 TB
Samsung S8 ultra	MicroSD 1 TB
Fire HD 10	MicroSD 512 GB
Fusion 5	MicroSD 256 GB
Microsoft Surface Go 2	MicroSD 1 TB

Conclusion

MicroSD card makes it easier to carry our data anywhere, and it also helps us speed up the tablet’s performance by expanding the storage capacity. But we have to consider the consequences associated with it.

At times it becomes hard to decide whether using an SD card is beneficial for us or not. But our recommendation is to use it with extra care, and storage management can positively impact the tablet performance.