Phone storage expansion

Back in November I wrote about why I consider user-replaceable batteries to be a necessary aspect of a phone. I'd now like to cover expandable storage (a microSD slot) on phones. My inspiration for this piece comes from seeing some people considering storage expansion to be a must-have feature on a phone, regardless of how much space the device already has on board.

I recently saw an upcoming smartphone with new and powerful hardware on board; however, there was no information about a microSD slot, although the device was stated to have at least 32 gigabytes of built-in storage. The response to this? Angry comments from people stating that they'd "never buy the phone" unless it had expandable storage, dismissing its other qualities and the large amount of space already inside. While I would have agreed with them if the phone had inadequate onboard storage, that wasn't an issue.

When I was choosing a new phone the ability to expand its storage was important, but not an absolute requirement; what mattered more was the overall amount of available space on the phone if it wasn't fitted with a microSD slot. The device I ultimately bought has 4 gigabytes of built-in storage and 32 more gigabytes via microSD; the freedom to expand overwhelmingly makes up for the small amount of space on the phone, and I consider this a more than reasonable amount: I would have been happy with 4 gigabytes on board with 16 in expansion, or 16 of onboard space with no expansion.

People have their individual standards. I'll always consider a microSD slot to be a welcome addition, especially if the phone already has a large amount of storage inside, but unlike the issue of battery replaceability, under certain circumstances a lack of a microSD slot is not a nonstarter for me.