Phones Might Get MicroSD Cards Again, And You Can’t Guess Why

Are you missing the microSD card slots on your phones? Well, there’s some good news. A fresh report suggests that smartphone manufacturers might be bringing them back, and the reason is quite unexpected. Instead of being about user convenience, the comeback could be because of the rising memory prices.

Expandable storage could make a comeback in smartphones

For years, the integration of microSD cards has allowed users to easily expand their phone storage. They could store more photos, videos, and apps without having to pay extra for higher storage models. Then, as phones became slimmer and more advanced, OEMs began removing the slots.

Some phones offered a hybrid SIM slot, which can use either a second SIM card or a microSD card. This lets you select between using two SIMs or adding extra storage to your phone. Others removed microSD card slots totally, particularly from flagship phones, likely to make more room for larger batteries, better cameras, faster built-in storage, or to boost profits.

But now, the story might be changing. Tipster Jukan, citing a Chinese source, said on X, “Apparently smartphone companies are considering bringing back the SD card slot because of the surge in memory prices.” Lately, memory prices have jumped due to the growing demand from AI infrastructure. This makes built-in storage more expensive for phone makers. As a result, they may be rethinking expandable storage as an option for consumers. It’s unclear which brands are leading this change, but there appears to be some chatter coming from Chinese suppliers.

Samsung, in particular, reportedly is in a solid position to take advantage of the recent memory demand boost. An earlier report suggested that the company’s operating profit may more than double next year, thanks to a surge in memory prices. Meanwhile, all models of Galaxy S26 may use improved LPDDR5X RAM at 10.7Gbps, compared to 8.5Gbps in the S25 series.