Samsung releases two types of new microSD cards (Courtesy of Samsung Electronics)
Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday released higher-capacity memory cards for portable devices that can store up to 1-terabyte (TB) data, almost double their predecessors’ 512-gigabyte (GB) and transfer them at a faster speed to ensure seamless loading and multitasking.
The latest editions of the PRO Plus and EVO Plus microSD cards are compatible with Android smartphones, tablets and handheld gaming consoles, featuring higher performance and longer battery life than their previous models, Samsung said.
They are also suitable for action cameras and drones for creating, editing and saving data.
The PRO Plus and EVO Plus, about the size of a fingernail, stack Samsung’s eighth-generation V-NAND in a microSD form factor, resulting in a high-capacity package, previously only possible in solid-state drives.
They apply 12-nanometer (nm) process technology, compared to their previous lineup based on a 55nm process node.
Nano refers to the width of the chip circuit line. The thinner the circuit linewidth, the larger the number of chips can be mounted on a substrate or wafer.
“The PRO Plus and EVO Plus 1TB cards offer enhanced durability for a higher volume of write-and-erase cycles, ensuring safer data storage over extended periods,” Samsung said in a press release.
MicroSD cards (in the bottom right-hand corner) (Courtesy of Getty Images)
With 1TB storage, users can accommodate more than 400,000 ultra-high-definition images with 4,000 pixels and 2.3 megabyte each, or more than 45 console games with 20GB each.
“Creators and tech enthusiasts are increasingly using portable devices such as smartphones and handheld gaming devices to store data that demand high-performance and high-capacity,” Hangu Sohn, vice president of Samsung Electronics’ memory brand product business team, said in the press release.
“The new high-capacity microSD cards — PRO Plus and EVO Plus – are response to the demand for strong large amounts of high-quality data in a reliable and secure way,” he added.
Samsung’s EVO Plus microSD cards offer five storage options (Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
With storage options from 128GB to 256GB, 512GB and 1TB, the PRO Plus offers sequential read speeds of up to 180 megabytes-per-second (MB/s) with sequential write speeds of up to 130 MB/s.
By comparison, the EVO Plus can transfer data at a speed of up to 160MB/s. Its storage options vary from 128GB to 256GB to 512GB and ITB, as well as 64GB.
The PRO Plus’ retail prices range from $24.99 for the 128GB model to $153.99 for one with a 1TB storage capacity. The EVO Plus sells for $12.99 to $131.99 for 64GB and 1TB models, respectively, at retail shops. They have a 10-year limited warranty.
Samsung, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, has maintained its leadership in the NAND flash market for more than two decades.
In the second quarter ended in June, Samsung’s operating profit soared more than 15-fold to 10.4 trillion won ($7.5 billion) from the same period of last year thanks to unwavering demand for its mainstay memory chip products. The figure was up 58.1% from the previous quarter.
By Jeong-Soo Hwang
hjs@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article
