Samsung Galaxy S6 Active might trade fingerprint scanner/heart rate sensor for micro SD card slot

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Active might look something like the recently announced Samsung Xcover 3 (above)

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is chock-full of amazing hardware features (wireless charging, fingerprint scanner, DDR4 RAM), but when we found out some of the Galaxy S5’s best features wouldn’t be making a return — water resistance, micro SD card, and removable battery — we have to admit, we were a little bummed out.

When it came to water resistance, we had a feeling that Samsung would bring this feature back for an all new Samsung Galaxy S6 Active. Not too long later, a few leaks started making the rounds, hinting to the S6 Active’s existence and we were excited to see what else the phone bring. Today, a Reddit user claims to have had a sit down meeting with Samsung rep out of Europe (along with picture proof). When asked about Samsung Galaxy S6 Active, the Samsung rep was willing to divulge a few details about the device. First off, Samsung could be ditching the fingerprint reader/heart rate sensor for the S6 Active. While that sounds like an odd move (given the S6 Active will likely be marketed towards those who are active), he mentioned the phone will feature an SD card slot.

He also went on to mention that the camera might be “less good” than the regular S6’s and that we can look forward to a mid-summer release date. We should note, he did mention the device was still under development and that any of these hardware features could change down the road, so there might still be hope for that fingerprint reader on the retail-ready version.

With a rumored 3,500mAh battery and now a micro SD card slot, anyone else thinking about picking up the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active over the regular version?

Sony Xperia Z4 may have stopped by the FCC, confirms micro SD card slot ain’t going nowhere

There are no guarantees in life. When it comes to mobile devices, just because a previous iteration of a flagship device packed specific hardware (a micro SD card slot and/or removable battery for instance) doesn’t always guarantee the next model will have the same. And if the Samsung Galaxy S6 taught us anything, it’s that long revered hardware features can up and leave in a moment’s notice.

Be all that as it may, we’re hyped about Sony’s next flagship smartphone. Initially we though we could be a ways off from a Sony Xperia Z4 launch, but a new Sony device that recently passed through the FCC — packing almost the same dimensions as the previous Sony Xperia Z3 — could suggest we’re closer to a launch than we previously thought. While the FCC documentation doesn’t reveal too many surprises (the device in question is packing a nice amount of frequency bands to support US networks), it did manage to confirm the existence of the micro SD card slot on the device.

We know, it’s nothing groundbreaking, but sometimes it’s nice to have solid confirmation. Not only that, this could give a little peace of mind to Android fans who felt slighted by Samsung removing the SD card in the Galaxy S6. With FCC certification, we imagine it wont be too much longer before Sony makes it official.

[FCC | via PhoneArena]

SanDisk was able to stuff 200GB of storage space inside their latest microSD card

You thought SanDisk’s 128GB microSD cards were insane? The company has just announced another huge milestone — a whopping 200GB of data inside a chip smaller than the size of a nickle. It’s a UHS-1 Class 10 chip, which means it can transfer data at up to 90 megabytes per second.

So why not 256GB, the natural step up from 128GB? It’s likely SanDisk was unable to physically fit enough circuitry, doodads and whatever else makes these things tick inside such a compact form factor. It’s possible that could change with refined engineering techniques in the future, but for now this is as high as it gets.

You shouldn’t bat an eyelash at 200GB. It’s absolutely insane, and it’s even crazier to know that it can work in any device that supports microSDXC cards of 64GB or higher (which includes the newly-announced HTC One M9, but unfortunately not the just-as-fresh Samsung Galaxy S6).

Of course, you’d have to be willing to spend the 0 that this thing will cost to start so if you have that sort of money to throw around on micro storage chips you’ll likely be able to afford a smartphone that can utilize it. The chips are due Q2 2015.

[via SanDisk]

T-Mobile LG G4 begins shipping tomorrow with a free 128GB microSD card

T-Mobile has confirmed that they will begin taking orders for the LG G4 online tomorrow, and that the flagship phone will be ready to ship as soon as you confirm your order. This is about a week ahead of its expected June 3rd in-store availability, so this may be the quicker option for you to get your hands on it if you don’t want to wait any longer.

The LG G4 has proven to be a pretty stoic competitor for 2015, with an exceptional camera, good design and great performance being the driving forces behind the much-earned excitement of future owners. You can read our LG G4 review if you’re wondering whether it’s worth its skin.

The phone will cost down and .99 monthly payments over 24 months, or 9.76 if you decide you want to go without a contract. That very reasonable price tag comes with an added 128GB microSD card for no extra cost, but only while supplies last. Not a bad deal at all, we’d say. Let us know if you’ll be picking one up once checkout goes live.

[via T-Mobile]

You can now buy SanDisk’s 200GB microSD card for $239 at Amazon

SanDisk’s insane 200GB microSD card is now available for purchase. You can grab one for as little as 9 over at Amazon. This isn’t the most attractive price in the world, we know, but you have to remember that you can’t find anything else of this size on the market.

The card is Class 10, UHS-1 and rated for up to 90 megabytes per/second transfer speed. You’ll also get an adapter with your purchase for use in devices that don’t support microSD. Not a bad deal at all. This thing should work in any phone supporting standard microSDXC cards so don’t hesitate to buy one for your device if the smaller storage options just aren’t enough for you.

[via Amazon]

The world’s first 512GB microSD card has been revealed at Computex

Looks like SanDisk’s streak of pushing the boundary of microSD card storage has come to an end. One manufacturer attending the Computex tech show in Taiwan has revealed a 512GB microSD card.

That company is Microdia, which is a fairly unknown name when it comes to flash storage. They’re promising a UHS-2 card that has read/write speeds of 300 megabytes per second. We’re not sure we can believe that claim as even SanDisk has yet to achieve those speeds on their smaller range of cards.

But that’s the claim, and we definitely can’t say otherwise until we give it a spin ourselves. The card was built on the microSDXC standard, so it stands to reason that it should work with any phone that can support those cards (which tend to list lower maximum storage capabilities even though higher capacity cards work just fine).

There’s one other uncertainty. Well, it’s less of an “uncertainty” and more of a “holy crap, that’s a very good reason not to buy this card”: it’ll retail for ,000 once it’s on store shelves. That’s absurd for mobile flash storage from an unproven company that might not even last you that long. Do yourself a favor and spend  on a portal 512GB hard drive, and pocket the rest for something actually worth the coin.

[via CNet]