The Technophile

While most microSD cards appear to be the same, there are a few important variations. Some are straightforward, such as capacity  of the microSD card or peak read and write speeds, while others, for example, endurance and input/output operations per second promises, are more complex. These minor details can get you a microSD card that will either not slow down your phone or will if you're not mindful. We've compiled a list of the best Micro SD cards for Android in 2022 so you can find the right one for your Android phone, tablet, Chromebook, or camera.

1. SanDisk Extreme MicroSD Card

Source: Sandisk

Even when compared to high-speed units designed for usage in cameras that are very demanding, the SanDisk Extreme rules the roost during objective testing. The Extreme is at the top of the field for smartphone use, with sequential read speeds of up to 160MB/s. It is a well known fact that SanDisk microSD cards are some of the most long-lasting. Finally, it comes in capacities ranging anywhere from 32GB to 1 terabyte, allowing you to make room for any storage limitations imposed by the software on your phone or Chromebook.

SHOP AT AMAZON

Source: Lexar

The premium 1000x from photography-focused company Lexar has you covered if you insist on having the best equipment available. It employs the UHS-II bus, which is ubiquitous in top-end cameras, and is totally backward compatible with UHS-I, which is the norm in most smartphones. It has the speed to handle 120 FPS and 4K smartphone videos and is an excellent choice if you routinely use your phone to save or transfer huge files to your personal computer through a high-speed SD card reader.

SHOP AT AMAZON

Source: Samsung

Samsung manufactures not only some of the greatest Android phones on the market, but also some of the finest flash storage and microSD cards. While the SanDisk Extreme's or Lexar 1000x 90MB/s write speeds aren't as impressive, this budget-friendly microSD card performs admirably without draining a hole in your pocket. It's good for storing movies and music on your smartphone, but it's not suitable for running programs, and high-end devices may find shooting 4K video to be limited. 

SHOP ON AMAZON

Source: PNY

The PNY Pro Elite is worth considering if you simply require 128 or 256 GB of storage expansion. It sticks to its A2 ranking by loading non-essential apps like games and IM suites quickly. Despite its low cost, its overall performance is roughly identical to that of the top. If you require a 512 GB or larger microSD card, however, go elsewhere, as this lineup has a higher-than-average failure rate at those sizes.

Source: Lexar

The majority of Lexar's memory products are aimed for video and photo cameras, which value high sequential write speeds. This one is unique in that it has an A2 IOPS rating, indicating that it can load, update, and manage apps just like the best of them. While it cannot match the momentum of a phone's internal storage, it's ideal for graphically demanding games that require a lot of data. However in terms of sequential reading and writing rates, the microSD card is not up to the mark. 

To put it bluntly, not much. The numbers and letters on the face of SD and microSD cards represent the least speeds that they can attain, and not necessarily the maximum. Letters like C10, U3, UHS, and others are prevalent. The C10 rating, for example, indicates that the card can write big sequential data at a rate of 10 gigabytes/s or faster (which is not considered very fast these days). Some of these figures, however, are now outmoded or irrelevant, and you can be assured, none of them will actually tell the full story when it comes to practical real-world performance.

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Fastest Micro SD Cards in 2022