Samsung’s new microSD cards for devices with AI are faster than most modern-day SSDs

Samsung has been going all out on AI this year, having recently unveiled Galaxy AI, which was first introduced with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series. The company also announced its Gauss AI chatbot in November last year, to take on the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google ‘s Gemini (Formerly Bard).

Now though, the company has just taken things a step further, having just announced two new SD cards specifically for devices with on-board AI capabilities. Here’s all you need to know.

Samsung 256GB SD Express microSD card: Features and key specifications

Samsung has just announced that it has started to sample new 256GB SD Express microSD cards. Also, it has started the mass production of its 1TB UHS-1 microSD card.

According to the company, the 256GB SD Express has a read speed up to 800 MB per second, and write speeds of up to 958 MB per second. For those unaware, the read speed on a memory card refers to the time it takes to open a file that is stored on it, and the write speed indicates the time it takes to transfer a file and save it to a memory card.

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Now, these speeds may not sound like much on their own. However, Samsung says that the SD Express microSD card is up to 1.4 times faster than SATA SSDs, which reach read speed of up to 560 MB per second. The upcoming SD Express cards will also be four times faster compared to traditional UHS-1 memory cards, which sport read speeds of up to 200 MB per second.

What’s more, the 256GB SD Express microSD card will also come with a Dynamic Thermal Guard (DTG), to ensure the card can maintain its temperatures and never overheat when used for an extended period of time.

Samsung 1TB UHS-1 microSD Card: Features and key specifications

Coming to the new 1TB microSD card, it is available in two variants: Pro Plus and Evo Plus. The microSD cards pack as much storage as most SSDs on modern laptops, in a super compact form factor. Apart from this, they also get water and dust protection, a mechanism to keep overheating in check, as well as protection against magnets and X-rays. And additionally, they also get protection against wearing out.

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Samsung says that as AI features increasingly make their way from the cloud to our smartphones, storage space and speed will also become increasingly crucial. Devices equipped with faster read and write speeds, as well as capacities, will be able to execute data-intensive AI-based tasks, such as image generation, or video editing, much faster.

Samsung microSD cards: Pricing and availability

Now, the 256GB SD Express microSD card, Samsung has announced, will be made available for purchase later this year. Exactly when, however, remains unknown as of yet. The 1TB UHS-1 microSD card on the other hand, is slated for launch with the start of the third quarter of this year. Pricing details of the SD cards remain under wraps for now as well.