The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra does not have an SD card slot. In fact, none of the Galaxy S23 models do, as Samsung is moving away from including SD card support in their future models.
My name is Caleb, and I’ve been a sports photographer for over five years. Thanks to this, I have plenty of hands-on experience working with SD cards as an essential part of my camera bag.
In this article, I’ll discuss the lack of an SD card slot for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. I’ll explain why Samsung decided not to include SD card support and what you can do to get more storage despite that.
If you’re thinking about getting a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and are unsure whether the storage situation will work for you, keep reading for the full breakdown.
Contents
Does the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Have an SD Card Slot
No, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra doesn’t have an SD card slot. This applies across the entire lineup of Galaxy S23 phones, as none of them support SD cards.
If you’ve been following Samsung’s flagship releases, you’ll also notice this isn’t a new trend. The last model in the Galaxy S family to have SD card support was the S20, and that design came out three years ago in 2020.
That said, the S23 Ultra is still a great choice if you care about storage. The model has up to 1TB of storage space, more than the other S23 variants.
Why Did Samsung Remove the SD Card Slot?
Compared to the past, SD cards are just less useful. Storage has become cheaper over the years in the computer and smartphone worlds. More people can afford to simply buy a phone with a larger internal hard drive instead of using a removable SD card.
Also, internal storage is more effective at its job. It can offer faster speed when moving large files, as there’s no bottleneck like with SD cards and other types of removable media.
Another advantage of internal drives is reliability. No one wants to find thousands of their photos and videos gone someday because they happened to be saved on a less reliable device.
Finally, there’s a business reason to consider. Getting rid of the SD card slot is an excellent way to convince buyers to purchase more expensive phones with larger internal drives, as it’s effectively getting rid of a cheaper storage solution.
How to Get More Storage on a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Even with Samsung’s move away from SD card slots, there are still easy ways to ensure you have enough storage space.
Get a Larger Storage Model
As obvious as it sounds, buying a phone with more storage space is the easiest option. The S23 Ultra is a good phone for this strategy since the largest storage option comes in at a whopping 1TB. With that much internal storage space, you definitely don’t need an SD card.
Utilize Cloud Storage
If a larger storage model isn’t in your budget, or if you just aren’t willing to pay for it, cloud storage is one option for getting around your storage limits.
These days, you can store basically anything in the cloud. There are many different apps for this, from Dropbox to Google Drive. The added benefit is that your files aren’t lost if something happens to your phone and its internal drive.
Move Files to PC
You might not want to use cloud services because of their subscription costs or privacy concerns. In that case, your best bet is to plug your phone into your computer and back up your files the old-fashioned way.
You might also want to invest in an external hard drive if you have a lot of files to save. These have gotten much cheaper over the past decade and let you store more files than you could with an SD card.
FAQs
We’ve found that these are some of the most common questions about Samsung and SD cards.
Why Did Samsung Remove the SD Card Slot?
Samsung is moving away from SD cards as part of an industry-wide shift towards internal storage. Not only are large internal drives more accessible now, they’re also more reliable and much faster.
Can You Install an SD Card in Samsung S23 Ultra?
No. None of the phones in the Galaxy S23 line support SD cards. The Galaxy S series as a whole has largely dropped SD card support following the S20.
Are SD Cards Being Phased Out?
Yes. Multiple companies are getting rid of SD card slots since larger internal drives are more efficient and have become accessible to a larger number of customers in recent years.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra doesn’t have an SD card slot, and it’s not alone in that regard. The other phones in the S23 series also lack SD card support, so you’ll have to get a larger internal drive if you want more storage space.
What do you think about getting rid o the SD card slot? Let us know in the comments!
Rosalind
The removal of an SD card is a huge disappointment and a big mistake. As such I decided against buying this phone or any series that do not have SD slot even though I was thinking to do so to upgrade my current Samsung. Please don’t make the same mistake in your newer models.
keh
True the S23 doesn’t have a SD card but why then, when you look at the storage, is there a SDcard directory? Is this just a naming thing? Duplicated in storage/emulated and storage/self? If I delete anything out of any 1 or those 3 it gets deleted from all 3 so I’m assuming they are all one and the same location.
The internal is faster than a SD but did anyone complain about having to wait? Not me. The bean counters knew they’d make more money selling more GB’s if people didn’t have the option of adding a SD card. SD is much faster/cheaper/safer than the clouds.