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
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.
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.
