Samsung Galaxy S21 Tipped To Skip MicroSD Card Slot: Will It Affect Sales?

Samsung Galaxy S21 is all set to debut in the coming day and several leaks about the series have given us an idea of what to expect. For one, we know the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra will sport the S-Pen support. Additionally, it's now reported that the Samsung Galaxy S21 series would be skipping the microSD card slot.

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Samsung Galaxy S21 Series Without MicroSD Card Slot

Like all new generation of smartphones, the upcoming Galaxy S21 is expected to feature several upgrades, both under and above the hood. However, like its predecessor, the upcoming flagship series might skip the microSD card slot. And this extends to all these models - the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Looking back, a couple of reports hinted that the upcoming Galaxy S series could feature a microSD card slot, allowing users to further expand their phone's storage. However, industry expert Roland Quandt has a different story to tell. As reported by SamMobile, the memory card reader isn't included on the spec sheet of the Galaxy S21 series.

The question is - why would Samsung skip the microSD card slot, just as it's done with all previous flagships? It's speculated that skipping the memory card is part of the company's market strategy to highlight the uniqueness of its flagship models. Others opine that skipping the memory card could be due to having larger default storage options.

S21 spec sheets say:
memory card reader: "No"

Some markets might still get a charger in the box though, while others don't.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) December 31, 2020

Not The First Time

As noted, this isn't the first time Samsung is skipping the microSD card slot on its flagship smartphones. Looking back, the 2015 Samsung premium models shipped without a microSD card. A couple of flagships in 2019 and 2020 also didn't have a memory card slot. What's interesting is to see the continued jump in sales, whether memory card or not!

Seeing the present trend in the smartphone market, one can slowly expect to see the disappearance of a charger in the box. The latest Apple iPhone 12 series skips the charger and Xiaomi followed suit with the new Mi 11. Could the Samsung Galaxy S21 series also skip the charger? Do note, none of these speculations have been confirmed yet. We'll know more soon with the launch just a few days away.