The Galaxy S21 Ultra is finally here and with all the changes it carries is the storage availability. The standard S21 and S21+ come with a choice of either 128 or 256GB. And, when it comes to the S21 Ultra, there’s an additional 512GB option available for purchase.
However, unlike the previous year’s Galaxy S range, the latest S21 Ultra doesn’t include a microSD card slot. Yes, the maximum storage availability of this smartphone concludes at 512GB, with the only option left for an upgrade being the most obvious one.
The reason behind the exclusion of the MicroSD card support
As per Samsung the only reason why the microSD card support has been removed is they don’t deem it necessary. Although, it has been a staple feature of the previous generation Galaxy S smartphones, like the headphone jack and the charger, the times are changing now. Samsung believed their move to be in harmony with what is going on in the industry (I hope you get the hint). Moreover, they believe a customer making a move from one smartphone to the next already has a backup space on the cloud.
Without any argument, having access to a larger physical storage option is a plus for most people, however, with more and more of them using the cloud, there is comparatively less need for additional storage in the smartphone.
Memory options available in S21 Ultra
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The new Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra specs mention the availability of three storage options, namely- 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. While one may argue that the lower storage options are enough, the 8K video recording feature is likely to leave them short of space. Furthermore, with Google thinking of ending the free storage limit for Google Photos, the lack of physical storage will hurt even more.
How does it compare with the last year’s Note 20 Ultra and the S20 Ultra?
The Galaxy S21 ultra specs vs note 20 ultra comparison are noteworthy. As per Samsung’s website, the MicroSD slot on the last year’s S20 Ultra and the Note 20 Ultra provided users with the option to expand the storage up to 1TB. This, in particular, is a strong reason for users of these devices not to move to the new S21 Ultra, unless they care about the performance and the added features more.
Some tips for you to save space on your S21 Ultra
With the exclusion of the microSD card from the S21 Ultra, optimizing the existing physical storage will be vital if you want your device to perform well under all circumstances. However, with the help of the tips shared below, you don’t have to worry a bit. Here’s how you can keep storage-related issues at bay:
Clearing the Cache
Android smartphones use cache(stored data) to save time in loading a webpage. This helps deliver a better user experience. However, these stored files when bulk up, cause disruptions in the way the memory processes them. As a result, you face lagged down speeds and internet connection issues as well. Moreover, the cached files take up precious memory space as well.
Clearing the cache files is recommended as it helps save space on your smartphone. If you are looking to clear the cache files, go to the “Settings” menu and in the “Applications” section, select the “Application Manager” option. Click on the name of the app which you want to modify. When you go to the Application Info menu, tap on the Storage button and click on the Clear Cache option to clear the stored unnecessary files.
Using Android’s “Free Up Space” Tool
Almost all the smartphones in the market have got an inbuilt “Free-Up space” tool that helps remove unnecessary files. If you don’t find the same on your smartphone, you can also download the same from the Google Play Store. To use the feature, follow the steps:
- Go to the “Settings” and select the “Storage” option. You will see a blue-colored button with “Free Up Space” mentioned. Click on it.
- A new “Remove Items” page will appear on the screen, where you will see the space occupied by different files.
- Click on the check box next to each item type you wish to clear and finally click on the “Free Up –MB “ button at the bottom.
Deleting the unnecessary Apps
You might have got some pre-installed apps or games that you seldom use or play. In the storage section, you will find information on apps that you don’t use that much. If you want you can uninstall the same to free up extra space. Where in the previous models, you could move the apps to the SD card, the removal of the same in the S21 Ultra will force you to uninstall them.
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Move your files to the Cloud
Items like photos and videos can take up a lot of space on your new S21 Ultra. As already mentioned, the 8K video recording feature and the 108MP of the high-resolution camera combined with other lenses will generate files of enormous sizes. And saving all these files on your phone will mean over-exploiting the memory unnecessarily.
Again the most obvious move for the owners of the new S21 Ultra smartphone is moving the files to the cloud. Files such as photos, videos, documents, and more that are not opened every day can easily be shifted to the cloud storage platforms like Gdrive, One Drive, DropBox, and more. These platforms are easily available and provide at least 5GB of free space.
Once you have uploaded and taken a backup of your files online, you can delete the local files. If needed, they can be easily downloaded again from the internet.
The final word
The exclusion of the MicroSD card support from the new S21 Ultra has posed a challenge to the users who are looking to use the phone for photography and videography purposes. However, for those wanting to exploit the processor and other features, the phone will cater just fine.
With the help of the tips shared above, we hope you will be able to make full use of your new Galaxy smartphone.
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Well one of the biggest reasons I have gone with Samsung is because of the expandable memory… looks like I will be switching out from them as well now..
same here, stupid decission, they have tried that before,in S8, need to put it back if I should ever bye a Samsunga agin
+2 wife and I are gone
I’m done too. What a bunch of dumbasses.
I’m so disappointed! I’ll probably change!
Same.
Agree
Yes, I’ve had problems with pics disappearing. So I use a sd card or put them on my laptop. So I don’t know if samsung or Google is the problem. We’re talking 60+ years that personal.
Very good article. To bad Samsung doesn’t make it obvious that the option to add memory to the new S21 doesn’t exist
Amen to that! Not only that they don’t have the 512 or 256 in stock!
Your not wrong. I just purchased the s21 ultra, thinking that it would naturally come with expandable memory. I got the 128gb version. If I’d known about it having no expandable memory, I would have gone with the 512gb version or not purchased it at all. My fault. I should have done a bit more homework about it.
Same here – VERY DISAPPOINTED
Freaking same, I’m about to return it.
If you buy the phone insurance through Asurian, they will handle all the problems for you! I think Samsung is a very substandard phone!!!😔
I’m hanging on to my old phone till I can buy one with sd slot I hate the cloud
Oh I got one as a birthday gift with the 128gb internal storage. I traded in my Samsung galaxy s7 edge. This S21 ultra comes with a C to C cable with no USB end seriously WTF!! Salesperson didn’t say anything about that crap!! Thank goodness I have ways to charge the phone. Oh and a tiny little sheet of paper and tons of bloat ware that can’t be uninstalled. I am so ticked. It has Google and Microsoft so it keeps trying to get me to upload to one drive and I have Google drive. I still have the very first Samsung galaxy. Samsung is the first to do away with the SD card. The rest are going to follow.
Totally agree.. too bad.
I wouldn’t have bought it
Time to find another brand
Bad move Samsung. Goodbye.
Me to., wont carry on with samsung phones with no sd card option., will go elsewhere.
Apple is the best. You’ll save money in the long run.
Apple is all about making money on not about the customer, it’s what makes them money, cellphones are becoming more less of a cellphone, cellphone manufacturers are like the government who makes health care choices for us, they don’t care about what are needs are and think it’s there money when we get most of our money taken out of our paycheck that’s how it is with cellphone manufacturers they think of themselves bcuz they don’t pay for there cellphones, I dislike technology for what it has become
This is a stupid idea! There is no way a phone that costs this much should have such a idiotic problem! So they make a great camera.. which is why I bought it & many others too & then you can’t store all your photos! Ridiculous!
That’s very disappointing, I love that my photos can be stored on my sd card. won’t be upgrading to this version anytime soon
Well I just look at upgrading my phone and guess what. Only the 128GB phone is available? Now what? No SD card or higher capacity internal?
Thanks samsung!
Worst phone and plans available. I think it’s close to a scam. Beware all Buyers
Time to find a different brand that still has the option for memory expansion
Not a good option to not have a sd card as that’s always need not matter the model or style
Did not pay attension to the fact. about the missing mSD slot on S21 Ultra….. 😕 Have the S20 Ultra with 1TB mSD… All my hollyday videos and Fam. Pictures, and room for more. NEVER SAMSUNG AGAIN…
vERY disappointing…
one of the reasons i was with samsung was becuase of the memory card option …good bye samsung i guess
Was going to buy the S21 Ultra until I read this. Fret not, there are tons of andriod phone with expansion memory slot.
I returned mine trying for a note 20 ultra with expandable storage or will switch to a brand with sd slot samsung eliminated the sd card in the s6 years ago I skipped that model and switched to LG and Sony has a new model flagship with expandable storage so I may try Sony this time
I am returning my new phone. I do not like a phone without an SD card slot. I was hoping to expand my memory and be portable to move from phone to computer to other phones. The 8k video is useless in this aspect. My opinion. Cloud memory is not portable. You will lose a lot of customers if you don’t fix this. A lot like the old fashion way. I’m not ready to change.
Been using samsung phones since the s3. Just received the s21 ultra and found out it did not have an expandable micr sd slot. This will be my last samsung phone.
Mine too. Everything in the world SUCKS nowadays. Now Samsung has joined that list. I’ll go back to a flip phone and internet on my laptop. Screw this.
The headphone jack was an acceptable loss, but this just makes it unviable to own a Samsung phone if you require a large amount of localized storage. It’s time for another brand to take over the Android market
If only the US hadn’t banned Xiaomi cuz their Mi11Ultra…… My GOD! They were Hell bent on besting Samsung with that phone and boy did they. Check out Mr. Who’s The Boss on YouTube. “The Samsung Killer”
Can you move the pictures to a photo stick to save them until you can move them elsewhere? I have one and you can get them for Both Types of Phone…Iphone and Android.
I believe you could transfer the photos,videos,etc via usb cable between phone and PC, as the article say’s you can backup your stuff online and delete the local storage as well.
Yes I hate the fact that there is no SD card slot, but every phone has it’s ups and down’s this will not prevent me from getting one.
Very upset that this phone, which I bought because I thought it would be better than others out there, has no SD card, and that it required purchasing a different charger, and car charger in order to use it, and that there does not seem to be a way to get an external drive for storage that is compatible with this phone, due to opening for plugging in is different size than previous phones. I don’t like having to store photos in Google, or in One Drive, as Google has changed their storage policy and changed originals to high quality resolution, making some too small to view entirely. Many other reasons, but too numerous to mention.
i am disappointed to see that samsung is trying to be iPhone, again. they will lose customers no doubt. I agree with others, i’m switching back to iPhone. I just lost the reason to stay with Samsung products.
Very disappointed of the removal of the SD. Wish I knew by I purchased the S21. Bad move Samsung!
is Sad that Samsung Made this stupid move and they didn’t realise what is their value over the others, let’s say goodbye
Really really p@!#ed off that there is no sd card slot.
Makes no sense to me and definitely regret my purchase.
I’m looking to buy a new phone but not interested in one unless it has expandable memory I may have to switch brands I used phones before without expandable storage and hated it apple make good phones but no expandable storage if samsung doesn’t sell with then I will keep using my LG g7 for awhile I’m looking for a note 20 ultra it has expandable storage but I haven’t seen one if I can’t get the note 20 ultra it will be goodbye samsung
I was hovering over the purchase button to upgrade my old Galaxy Note 8 to the new S21 Ultra, but the lack of an SD card slot on the new one squashed that. I don’t use cloud storage. I keep everything on my phone and on my person computer so having the ability to upgrade my phone’s memory when I need to was an absolute necessity for me.
Definitely was looking to upgrade…now I’ll be entertaining other options. Bad move Samsung.
PEAACE OUT SAmsung.. What a shit move… SD Card slots are the only way to privately store your info.. I don’t want every pic I take going to the cloud.. also, with a new 40 gig pixel camera or whatever and the 8k video, your measly 128 or 256 gigs is GONE From a 1 hour video.. PHONE shuts off, doens’t work.. This ultra s21 from samsung without adding a memory slot makes it almost worthless in my eyes… Storage is a huge component of phones now.. My s8 which im ready to finally put down and get a new phone has 40 gigs of just apps, especially now with crypto currencies and wallets. This 256gigs is garbage. Im finally making the switch to apple, im nervous. lol
Way to Wanna be Apple. Glad you conform to your competition instead of doing what you did correct to begin with. Fail
I agree. Stop following apple the things like headphone jack and expandable memory now.
Why can’t I get my ultra 21 to swap to 5G network
I just updated my and my wife’s phones from S8 & S8+ only to find out after the fact these new phones have no SD storage. We traded in our phones and wanted them back once we realized the error. There’s way to get them back and I don’t know what to do. Samsung should make apparent that these phones are lacking SD card usage.
The first thing I went to do is plug in my head phones. But we’re do you plug it in the I went to add my memory chip I’m looking and looking OK maybe it’s the same slot as the Sim card I pop it out and flip it over and say maybe it goes there but no that for another Sim card wtf I don’t need 2 sum cards . I need .ore memory. I upgraded from my beautiful lg thinq to the galaxy . I am hating my new device . OK 8k but that eats up memory so fast and to upload to the cloud takes forever so this device is not going to work for me . Even though it’s less then 2 weeks old the trade in value sucks big time. I got more for my lg that I had for 2 years then I can get for this device I wonder why . Wow it’s 5g so was my last 2 devices 8k don’t need it 4 k is what every odd is watching . Don’t like it don’t get it and I never write bad reviews . I always find the good in thing s but not here .
How could I miss that. I got my new S21 Ulta today. No media card slot. Taking it back tomorrow. I want my media card slot back.
Franklyn
That why I dont buy I phone because of there memory. I very sad to see what samsung did to this S21 ultra, but if the can be extend what a win win game to samsung. Well good luck….
I bought the s21 ultra before finding out it does not have the sd card slot. very disappointing. I’m returing the phone and look for something else.
I got this Samsung s21ultra and I found out is missing the SD card. I really got disappointed
Well one of the biggest reasons I have gone with Samsung is because of the expandable memory… looks like I will be switching out from them as well now.. i love samsung but now because the remove Micro SD card i dont like to up grade my S8+ the samsung company are pushing us to look to another companies offering the SD CARD i hope they consider about that even some of my freind thinking to switch to deffint company.
No micro sd card slot? No 3.5mm headphone jack? No purchase from me.
Was finally going to upgrade my galaxy s7 and I said hey, let’s see what Samsung is offering these days. Well I can tell you I’m not interested after seeing this. Guess I’ll be waiting and looking elsewhere, Samsung you just lost my business.
I’m getting a S21 ultra 512GB tons of storage for me. also have a cloud acct with 1TB of storage. Tons of options, External hard drive at home, so on so forth. I’ve been with Samsung 8 yrs. not going anywhere….
Bad move Samsung, was a multiple time repeat customer, will be returning this phone after less than day and bye Samsung
Sadly, they aren’t the only ones doing this. Judging by the sample responses here whoever decided to omit a card slot has got it badly wrong and the assumption people use cloud services heavily is flawed. Oh dear!
Not everyone wants to use the cloud storage. some of the best photos and videos are taken where there is little to no service. i like the instant access to my storage and the ability to Easily remove it if the phone gets damaged. I like the easy transfer to my computer (without needing internet) I like that i can trust it. please bring it back. at least ASK YOUR CUSTOMERS FIRST before making a decision like this. I’ll bet you even tons of your customers who don’t currently use it still like that it’s an option! I tell my friends all the time why samsung is always ahead of iphone. why would you want to be like them? stay like samsung!
I went to Best Buy today to purchase my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. I wanted to upgrade the memory from the standard 128 G to 256G. They could not get a phone with 256 G anywhere. They could not even order it from Samsung. I could not believe that. The 512 G memory can not be purchased anywhere in California. I am a photographer and I really wanted more memory. Guess I will just have to download my photos on a regular basis. Can’t wait to get my new phone.
Just purchased a S21 a week ago and now I find there is no SD card or head phones guess I can BT the headphones. do not want my photos in anyone’s cloud . This is the last. I have had 5 previous Samsungs.
Sure glad I got the Note 20 Ultra when I did – still has the SD slot so just moved my SD card of pictures from my Note 9 to this one. Not everyone has high speed internet so uploading and downloading from the cloud takes a long time so that isn’t an option for some of us. I guess my last Samsung phone will be the Note 20 Ultra. RIP Samsung – you make decisions based on a specific customer base that I am not a part of due to where I live. How much did you really save by eliminating this slot? Was that savings worth losing part of your customer base? Time will tell.
Your not wrong. I just purchased the s21 ultra, thinking that it would naturally come with expandable memory. I got the 128gb version. If I’d known about it having no expandable memory, I would have gone with the 512gb version or not purchased it at all. My fault. I should have done a bit more homework about it.
Well like the other Comments on here i to have just got the samsung s21 and didn’t realise it had no SD slot so as i came from an s9plus with 256 and an SD card I’m very Disappointed and I’m glad i never bought the Ultra at even more cost .this will be my last samsung i to have been with samsung since my s3 all those years ago but this is my last . sorry samsung you lost another follower.
I hate this fucking phone I had the samsung note ultra 20 ultra 512gb with a 256gb micro sd card cracked my screen and had to downgrade to this bullshit cause Verizon didn’t have any notes neither did the insurance company I go thru with Verizon
Bye Bye Samsung. Removing SSD card lot.
Ok earphones are pointless but why the charger.. I want a new Android Phone what the hell do I go for now.
I like my S9 that is now having some screen problems. I thought about replacing it with another S9 but found that security updates end April 2022. It seems that Samsung provides updates for 4 years. I’m considering the s20. I’m on the internet a lot with it and I don’t want to do that without recent security updates.
Terrible decision I got it thinking it would have one
They recommend cloud. Oh really cloud? who is ready to pay every month subscription fee for cloud? samsung for sure going to lose many customer. This has to be a lesson for others as well.
Agreed — Love the phone — hate that there isn’t an SD card slot available. Really disappointing
Hey, anyone at Samsung who may be “listening”… put the memory card slot back… leaving it out was a stupid, stupid decision. I spent I don’t no how much on my 1TB card for my S20 ultra. To upgrade to your S21 Ultra would mean I wasted my money on the memory card. I’ll be skipping upgrading this year and if you don’t put the memory card slot back in, I’ll be leaving Samsung permanently. From the sounds of the other comments here, it does not look like I will be alone in doing that.
I almost bought a s21 but no expandable memory so I’m keeping my LG g7 thing samsung is copying apple eliminating the best feachers headphone jack SD card slot removable battery camera buffs like the ability to swap out SD cards when there is not enough room and why rent cloud storage it’s a money grabber I will buy a phone with a less powerful processor with a SD card slot than one without
I got samsung s21 ultra and rubbish phone im really disppointed. This phone
No sd card slot and no headphone connection
Really rubbish
Like the majority of the people here with the lack of sd slot I’m done with this company!!
I just purchased a used, but mint condition Note20 Ultra with 512GB internal and the microSD slot. That is what I have on my Note 9 Ultra as well. Yes, Samsung, I *Do* have cloud storage and all of my data is backed up to it, but I need my data to physically be on my phone too.
I won’t be buying any new phones from your company as long as you don’t include a microSD card slot and at least 512 GB of internal storage as well.
Stop trying to copy iPhone. if I’d wanted an IPhone, I would have bought an iPhone. Give us back the features we stuck with Android for!
Note: Why does this reply box capitalize the first letter of each word I type?
why are so many people upset over the Expandable storage. Seriously it has huge amount of memory.
then the headphone jack comment.. who doesnt use bluetooth.
its not really that big of a deal. samsung is still a leader in tech. yes the sD card slot would have been nice, but hey my s20FE has a SD card slot and anyone that is upset ill trade your s21 for my phone.
The Main Reason I Got The Ultra Version Was SPECIFICALLY To Be Able To Utilize The SD Function. Good job at making people not upgrade Samsung. You tried to remove the SD card before and it was a disaster. I guess some dumb dumb bean counter laid some stupidity in your ear.
I got a 512gb card full of audiobooks, I WILL NOT buy a phone that doesn’t accept memory cards, I think the last note ultra was the last Samsung with an SD so I’ll probably get that one when the new phones release
This is a crock of bull. The only reason they do this is so you have to pay for a cloud account to store you data on. You could spend a flat $20 and buy a card or you can pay them $20 a month so they can store it for you because you are not responsible enough to manage your own data. and they will have access to all of your data and isn’t that really the idea since cloud computing became the Only way to compute anymore. it sucks and it is a crock of bull
My girlfriend wanted to get me the s21 ultra, but I will reject that offer is why I came over here for research.
I prefer were I can have additional micro sd cards it helps me more, on my s10 plus presently I have got 512 gb sd card on it, I feel so relaxed and take photos and videos as much as I want easy to share to anyone I wish without any processing. Samsung design engineers have lost the business idea, this feature of additional micro sd card is essential to the customers demands, it doesn’t have any negative impact on design sustainability.
Stupid is one way of describing it. i’m not going to get upset over a memory card, i’ll just copy the crap to my desktop but it’s not too smart removing the slot. Samsung must be buying up competitors or should be because nobody like this move.
The real reason behind the exclusion of the MicroSD card support is money and The consumer get screwed again!
Dumbest this was to remove the micro sd slot, I have to constantly delete things from my phone to fee up space. i have the 128 kb phone and without the sd slot the operating system itself takes up half of it. had I known the sd slot was gone from the galaxy I would have chosen a different brand. i have had samsung phones since the begining. my saying if it isn’t broken don’t fix it. very disappoint with samsung for doing this dumb thing.
With the upgrades to the photo and video performance and the Pro Mode, Samsung should have been smart enough to know to include memory expansion. Time to find a brand that still caters to it’s customers and not “industry trends”.
I have always used the sd card for saving everything because if the phone dies(and they have for me more than once) I still have my data. I will never buy a phone that doesn’t have a sd card slot.
I almost bought a s21 but no expandable memory so I’m keeping my LG g7 thing samsung is copying apple eliminating the best feachers headphone jack SD card slot removable battery camera buffs like the ability to swap out SD cards when there is not enough room and why rent cloud storage it’s a money grabber I will buy a phone with a less powerful processor with a SD card slot than one without
I bought the s21 ultra thinking I would be able to add an SD card for storage. After using the phone for a few months I ran out of storage and I realized this phone doesn’t allow an SD card. I will be switching from Samsung asap. I will not be buying another phone from them until there is an option for SD storage.
I am so excited to pay more for a phone with less memory to handle the 8k video files this phone produces. It makes perfect sense (to people wanting to sell you a new phone next year.)
AGREED on how STUPID it is to have these huge zillion pixel cameras and take away the memory expansion.
I’ve been a loyal note fan … until now that I regret getting the s22 Ultra bc NO MEMORY EXPANSION!
It looks like the room in the tray area is still there tho, can we hack memory back in?