A Post about Removable Storage, Removable Batteries and Smartphones
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Brian Klug on November 25, 2013 8:40 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
There's been a lot of talk lately about our position on removable storage and removable batteries in smartphones. Most of the discussion has centered around what we've said in podcasts or alluded to in reviews, so we figured it's a good time to have the complete discussion in one central location.
Let's get through the basics first:
All else being equal, removable storage and user replaceable batteries aren't inherently bad things. In fact, they can offer major benefits to end users.
The key phrase however is "all else being equal". This is where the tradeoff comes in. On the battery front, the tradeoff is very similar to what we saw happen in notebooks. The move away from removable batteries allows for better use of internal volume, which in turn increases the size of battery you can include at the same device size. There are potential build quality benefits here as well since the manufacturer doesn't need to deal with building a solid feeling removable door/back of some sort. That's not to say that unibody designs inherently feel better, it's just that they can be. The tradeoff for removable vs. integrated battery is one of battery capacity/battery life on a single charge. Would you rather have a longer lasting battery or a shorter one with the ability the swap out batteries? The bulk of the market seems to prefer the former, which is what we saw in notebooks as well (hence the transition away from removable batteries in notebooks). This isn't to say that some users don't prefer having a removable battery and are fine carrying multiple batteries, it's just that the trend has been away from that and a big part of the trend is set based on usage models observed by the manufacturers. Note that we also don't penalize manufacturers for choosing one way or another in our reviews.
The tradeoffs are simple with an internal battery, the OEM doesn't need to include a rigid support structure on the battery to prevent bending, and doesn't need to replicate complicated battery protection circuitry, and can play with alternative 3D structures (so called stacked batteries) for the battery and mainboard as well. Personally, I'd rather have something that lasts longer on a single charge and makes better use of internal volume as that offers the best form factor/battery life tradeoff (not to mention that I'm unlikely to carry a stack of charged batteries with me). It took a while for this to sink in, but Brian's recommendation to charge opportunistically finally clicked with me. I used to delay charging my smartphone battery until it dropped below a certain level and I absolutely needed to, but plugging in opportunistically is a change I've made lately that really makes a lot of sense to me now.
The argument against removable storage is a similar one. There's the question of where to put the microSD card slot, and if you stick it behind a removable door you do run into the same potential tradeoff vs. build quality and usable volume for things like an integrated battery. I suspect this is why it's so common to see microSD card slots used on devices that also have removable batteries - once you make the tradeoff, it makes sense to exploit it as much as possible.
There's more to discuss when it comes to microSD storage however. First there's the OS integration discussion. Google's official stance on this appears to be that multiple storage volumes that are user managed is confusing to the end user. It's important to note that this is an argument targeted at improving mainstream usage. Here Google (like Apple), is trying to avoid the whole C-drive vs. D-drive confusion that exists within the traditional PC market. In fact, if you pay attention, a lot of the decisions driving these new mobile platforms are motivated by a desire to correct "mistakes" or remove painpoints from the traditional PC user experience. There are of course software workarounds to combining multiple types of storage into a single volume, but you only have to look at the issues with SSD caching on the PC to see what doing so across performance boundaries can do to things. Apple and Google have all officially settled on a single storage device exposed as a single pool of storage, so anything above and beyond that requires 3rd party OEM intervention.
The physical impact as well as the lack of sanctioned OS support are what will keep microSD out of a lot of flagship devices.
In the Android space, OEMs use microSD card slots as a way to differentiate - which is one of the things that makes Android so popular globally, the ability to target across usage models. The NAND inside your smarpthone/tablet and in your microSD card is built similarly, however internal NAND should be higher endurance/more reliable as any unexpected failures here will cause a device RMA, whereas microSD card failure is a much smaller exchange. The key word here is should, as I'm sure there are tradeoffs/cost optimizations made on this front as well.
The performance discussion also can't be ignored. Remember that a single NAND die isn't particularly fast, it's the parallel access of multiple NAND die that gives us good performance. Here you're just going to be space limited in a microSD card. Internal NAND should also be better optimized for random IO performance (that should word again), although we've definitely seen a broad spectrum of implementation in Android smartphones (thankfully it is getting better). The best SoC vendors will actually integrate proper SSD/NAND controllers into their SoCs, which can provide a huge performance/endurance advantage over any external controller. Remember the early days of SSDs on the PC? The controllers that get stuffed into microSD cards, USB sticks, etc... are going to be even worse. If you're relying on microSD cards for storage, try to keep accesses to large block sequentials. Avoid filling the drive with small files and you should be ok.
I fully accept that large file, slow access storage can work on microSD cards. Things like movies or music that are streamed at a constant, and relatively low datarate are about the only things you'll want to stick on these devices (again presuming you have good backups elsewhere).
I feel like a lot of the demand for microSD support stems from the fact that internal storage capacity was viewed as a way to cost optimize the platform as well as drive margins up on upgrades. Until recently, IO performance measurement wasn't much of a thing in mobile. You'd see complaints about display, but OEMs are always looking for areas to save cost - if users aren't going to complain about the quality/size/speed of internal storage, why not sacrifice a bit there and placate by including a microSD card slot? Unfortunately the problem with that solution is the OEM is off the hook for providing the best internal storage option, and you end up with a device that just has mediocre storage across the board.
What we really need to see here are 32/64/128GB configurations, with a rational increase in price between steps. Remember high-end MLC NAND pricing is down below $0.80/GB, even if you assume a healthy margin for the OEM we're talking about ~$50 per 32GB upgrade for high-speed, high-endurance internal NAND. Sacrifice on margin a bit and the pricing can easily be $25 - $35 per 32GB upgrade.
Ultimately this is where the position comes from. MicroSD cards themselves represent a performance/endurance tradeoff, there is potentially a physical tradeoff (nerfing a unibody design, and once you go down that path you can also lose internal volume for battery use) and without Google's support we'll never see them used in flagship Nexus devices. There's nothing inherently wrong with the use of microSD as an external storage option, but by and large that ship has sailed. Manufacturers tend to make design decisions around what they believe will sell, and for many the requirement for removable storage just isn't high up on the list. Similar to our position on removable batteries, devices aren't penalized in our reviews for having/not-having a removable microSD card slot.
Once you start looking at it through the lens of a manufacturer trying to balance build quality, internal volume optimization and the need for external storage, it becomes a simpler decision to ditch the slot. Particularly on mobile devices where some sort of a cloud connection is implied, leveraging the network for mass storage makes sense. This brings up a separate discussion about mobile network operators and usage based billing, but the solution there is operator revolution.
I'm personally more interested in seeing the price of internal storage decrease, and the performance increase. We stand to gain a lot more from advocating that manufacturers move to higher capacities at lower price points and to start taking random IO performance more seriously.
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Klug4Pres - Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - link
Totally agree with Dustin Sklavos, but this is also a very important point.There is an odd mindset among the Anandtech reviewers - on the one hand, they present us with "inevitable industry trends", saying "that ship has sailed" etc., implicitly abandoning their own responsibility to try to influence those trends. On the other hand, we are told, "if you care, you have options, go buy a Samsung" etc.
But even ardent advocates of removeable/user-replaceable batteries, and SD-cards, will admit that this is only one factor amongst many that goes into their choice of smartphone. Nexus phones are by far preferred by tech enthusiasts on the grounds of timely updates, lack of bloatware, and software customisation potential, yet these phones are the most crippled flagships around, always lacking in some major area such as camera, offered with very little built-in storage, and yes, no expandability (Nexus 4 didn't even have USB-OTG without engaging in a humungous hardware hack for external power injection with a Y-cable), and limited service life due to the non-removeable battery.
Anandtech loves to talk about the producer interest, banging on about how manufacturers have such a terrible time designing a sturdy removeable back cover, how they can shave cents off their production or warranty costs, but this site is primarily read by consumers of technology, and it is an enthusiast site. Enthusiasts have always wanted expandability, open hardware standards, and have always hated walled gardens, vendor lock-in, price gouging on upgrades for proprietary parts. This stuff is absolutely the DNA of computer technology going back to the struggles of Apple, Commodore, IBM, Microsoft, and Digital Research, and in my opinion Anand & Co. should absolutely be advocating for this group of enthusiast users, regardless of whether they be in a small minority.
N.B. For batteries, user-replaceability is what I most want rather than instant swapability, but there is little doubt that if a battery is removeable, it will be much easier both to buy a replacement and also to fit it.
unknownweirdo - Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - link
Think that's already happening. The top brand of android phones have removable batteries and microsd slots.The market has sort of spoken, but the tech press and industry seem to be deaf to it
Spunjji - Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - link
It really isn't the same at all. The proportion of a notebook taken up by an optical drive is huge vs. the proportion of a mobile phone taken up by an SD slot, while nobody is going to have an optical drive with greater capacity than their non-removable built-in storage.chizow - Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - link
Glad to see common sense hasn't left AT's staff completely Dustin, thanks for the comments and perspective from someone who probably isn't provided an endless free supply of flagship smartphones.Bob Todd - Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - link
Spot on Dustin, and I would just add that these kinds of issues are usually looked at from a first world perspective on tech sites including this one. My last three personal phones have been from the Nexus line, and I haven't been bothered by the lack of micro SD cards or non-replaceable batteries (in the Nexus4/5). However, I am cognizant of the fact that my upgrade pattern is *not* the norm, and would seem like an absurd waste to many people in developing countries. The majority of the population is pretty cost conscious, and they also have a reasonable expectation that their devices should last several years. That makes things like expandable storage and replaceable batteries pretty damn important for them. So while i get tired of people spamming every smartphone thread that lacks expandable storage or replaceable batteries, I also think the outlook from the reviewers needs to go beyond a first world/upgrade every year or two perspective.NeoteriX - Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - link
"I would just add that these kinds of issues are usually looked at from a first world perspective on tech sites including this one."Yes, and the phones for which this battery/microSD issue exists is largely for "first world" phones, which is a point you and many others might be missing here. Some of the key benefits of the omission of these features is reduced thickness (smaller size), and that is a major selling point for the class of elite-power phones and the markets that permit purchasing a phone annually (first world nations as you say).
Look to the third world with cheaper phones that aren't striving towards the thinnest form factors (and users that are replacing their phones less regularly) and it's not an issue.
Lenovo, for example, presents the perfect example. They offer a broad range of Android phones for China and other third-world-ish markets ( http://shopap.lenovo.com/in/en/smartphones/index.h... ). The broad range of users there drives Lenovo's product differentiation, and you see a whole range of phones from the elite: hyper thin first-world territory phones with no user replaceable battery or microSD, all the way down to the budget with both those things. And, the range inbetween offers a mix of the two depending on the segment targeted. I think this is a perfect example that shows that these features are market driven.
Spunjji - Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - link
+111Hairs_ - Thursday, November 28, 2013 - link
Thank you very much Dustin for this thoughtful comment. It's a reminder of what made Anandtech the go-to site, an impartial, fact-based, thorough analysis based on real-word testing and thinking about what's best for the consumer, rather than spending time in reviews talking about the intimate conversations with industry insiders.What was sad to read recently is that following Brian's (phrasing this honestly) boasting about pushing for the megapixel camera race to be abandoned and his supposed success in seeing HTC release the One, his follow up in the Max admits that the tradeoff introduced wasn't what he expected, and that performance suffered. Pushing for better standards, or improved diversity, or different thinking as a reviewer is a good thing. Boasting about getting things changed, and then having to admit your ideas were a net loss to the consumer is a little embarrassing for all concerned.
Ev1lAsh - Friday, November 29, 2013 - link
@Dustin +1. Points 1-3 very nicely putTHX - Monday, November 25, 2013 - link
"All else being equal, removable storage and user replaceable batteries aren't inherently bad things."That's one way of saying it. But of course you could have said they are great things, which they are (all things being equal). All else being equal a user replaceable screen would be great. Also a shell, SOC, ram, etc...
Switching to a Nexus 5, the thing I miss the most is getting back home (or reaching in my pocket), swapping out a fully charged thin battery and being back to 100% in 20 seconds. My friends on iPhones worry about where or how to charge up next. Not a knock on iPhone, just that geek android users like myself are generally more savvy about conserving power.
YMMV. I live in a major city and am always on the go versus when I lived in the burbs and sat on my butt most of the time. So lifestyles play a huge part in this decision. I hope my next phone has a removable back!