How to differentiate microsd and find the best type for you

MicroSD cards are currently the primary form of storage on mobile devices, such as mobile phones and digital cameras. However, they are not the same and some may not be compatible with your equipment. To identify these differences, it is useful to buy a new MicroSD card that is compatible with the device in which you are going to use it. How, then, to know the differences between each model of memory card?

What is a microSD card?

A MicroSD is a type of flash memory used in the format of the card. They are widely used today to store data on mobile phones and digital cameras. It's called (micro) for being about a quarter the size of a normal SD card. Its dimensions are 15 mm high, 11 mm wide and 1 mm thick.

SD stands for Secure Digital. This is because all MicroSD cards have encryption capabilities that prevent copying of copyrighted material. Prior to the SD card standard, there was the MMC, which allows free data transfer and copying. The music industry did not like that and demanded the creation of a more secure standard, resulting in SD, which later became today's miniSD and microSD.

All sizes are compatible with any device, it is enough to use an adapter. So, if you want to use a MicroSD card in a notebook, simply insert it into an adapter that is going to be the size of a traditional SD card.

Memory cards can be classified according to their data storage capacity. Currently, we can find MicroSD cards of 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB and 2 GB. On top of that, the card gains another nomenclature. SD cards use the FAT16 file format.

MicroSDHC cards are the ones that go beyond the 2GB limit. That is, from 4 GB to 32 GB which are called SDHC cards. The acronym for Secure Digital High Capacity and indicates that these cards are high capacity. They use the FAT32 format and are compatible with any electronic equipment manufactured from 2008 to today. As a precaution, always look for the SDHC logo on your device.

SDXC cards, in turn, include those with 64GB up to 2TB. The acronym stands for Secure Digital Extended Capacity. They use the exFAT file system. Most devices manufactured after 2010 must support this new memory card standard.

Differences in transfer speed

In addition to different sizes, memory cards are also classified according to their transfer speed. The SD Association has created a specification for these cards, which is called a speed class. So depending on your class, you know how fast it is.

Class 2 card can write data at a speed of 2 Mb / s. They are recommended only for SD resolution video recordings. Already Class 4 data cards record at a speed of 4 MB / s. Class 6 achieve the rate of 6 MB / s. Both are capable of recording videos in HD and Full HD. Class 10 cards still exist, reaching 10MB / s write speed.

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There are also UHS class 1 and 3 cards. 10 MB / s and 30 MB / s respectively arrive. They are suitable for recording videos in 2K and 4K resolution. In this specification there is still a phase 1 (UHS-I), which increases the theoretical performance. The UHS-50 class reaches speeds of 50 MB / s UHS-104 reaches 104 MB / s.

Which microSD to choose?

When choosing the best microSD for your use, consider your needs and device compatibility. An SDXC will not work when it is only compatible with SDHC cards. A device that generates high definition video, they generally have large files, which require large capacity cards and fast transfer speed. The GoPro, for example, only accepts class 1 cards. For other devices, they prefer at least one class 4.