Do you have a smartphone? If the answer is yes, then you can just change one thing about your phone, it is the amount of storage space. Memory cards, or MicroSD cards, are there to help you out. They’re no bigger than your fingernail but can store loads of data. The main question that comes to your mind when you are choosing an SD card for your device is the durability and speed of the SD card. Then you probably heard of SD card classes or most of the time microSD card classes. How do you know which SD card is best for you? Knowing What is Sd card class is the answer to your question that defines the durability and the speed of the card.
Table of Contents
What is SD Card?
SD card stands for ‘secure digital card’. SD cards are small having a dimension of 24 mm by 32 that hold rows of memory chips within pins. You plug it into compatible SD slots on your electronic devices and hold the flash memory that is retained even when the device is turned off. SD cards can hold memory ranging from 4 gigabytes to 128 gigabytes, but your device may limit the range to working with 32GB or 64GB cards.
SD cards can be inserted into GPS devices too. GPS devices having SD card often come loaded with supplemental maps or charts to show map details and supply supplemental travel information.
In smartphones, SD cards are generally be used for media storage. Depending on the app creator, android above 4 can install apps to the SD card too.
Different Types of SD Card
There are now three types of SD card based on their sizes. The original format has the dimension of 32 x 24mm, which was very small at that time. Digital cameras, audio recorders, and similar products still use these cards. Smartphone needs smaller cards. So there is miniSD format, measuring 21.5 x 20mm, and microSD cards, measuring 11 x 15mm for the smartphones. But nowadays, smartphones generally support microSD cards.
What is SD Card Class?
Class of SD card means the data transfer rate of the SD card. There are different classes of SD cards. Different classes have a different write speed of data. Suppose you want to record an mp3 or 3gp video recording on your device. Then this will not be a problem because of a small amount of data size of an mp3. But if you want to do an HD or 4K video recording, then the data transfer rate must be high enough to perform perfectly.
Speed Class is the minimum data transfer speed of the SD card. The Speed Class is important for video mode of a smartphone or camcorders when the device is saving a steady stream of data. The resolution and format of the video determine the amount of data needs to be written in the steady state.
If you use a card without the proper class rating on an advanced camera, such as an HD camcorder or DSLR camera with HD video record settings will give you an error message indicating that video can only be recorded at a lower definition setting.
Important classes of SD cards are given below
Class 2
Class 2 SD card means it has a transfer rate of 2MB/s of data on the SD card. It is not suitable for a device which performs HD video recording. Actually, if the device performs high speedy things then this card isn’t for that device.
Important points:
- Class 2 SD card guarantee a minimum write speed of 2MB/s or higher
- Its durability isn’t good.
Class 4
Class 4 SD card has a write speed of 4MB/s of data. It is suitable for a device performing HD video recording. Actually, if the device performs high speedy things then this card isn’t best for the device but this card can perform that task.
Important points:
- Class 4 SD card guarantee a minimum write speed of 4MB/s or higher
- Class 4 is perfect for the tasks that we perform in our life every day.
- Its durability is better than class 2.
Class 6
Class 6 SD card has a write speed of 6MB/s of data. It is suitable for a device performing a high speedy task like HD or full HD video recording. Actually, if the device performs high speedy things then this card is better for the device in comparison to class 2 or 4.
Important point:
- Class 6 SD card guarantee a minimum write speed of 6MB/s or higher
- Its durability is better than class 4 but less than class 10.
Class 10
Class 10 SD card has a write speed of 10MB/s of data. It is perfect for a device performing a high speedy task not only like HD or full HD(1080p) video recording but also for taking burst photos. Actually, if the device performs high speedy things then this card is best for the device in comparison to class 2 or 4 or 10.
Important points:
- Class 6 SD card guarantee a minimum write speed of 6MB/s or higher
- Class 4 is perfect for a continuous photoshoot and video recording.
- Its durability is best among previous classes.
UHS Speed Class
UHS Speed Class was firstly introduced in 2009 by the SD Association. UHS memory cards are perfect for recording real-time broadcasts, capturing HD videos and extremely high-quality professional HD video recording.
UHS 1: Its minimum speed is 10MB/s. UHS 1 s card perfect for recording HD and full HD videos.
Important points:
- UHS 1 SD card guarantees a minimum write speed of 6MB/s or higher
- It can perform HD and full HD video recording and continuous photo shooting.
UHS 3: Its minimum speed is 30MB/s. UHS 3 can record 2K and 4k videos. It can perform almost all tasks in our day to day life.
Important points:
- UHS 3 SD card guarantees a minimum write speed of 30MB/s or higher
- Perfect for every task that can be performed in our everyday life.
How it Affects Your Smart Devices
Nowadays, people want an SD card slot on their devices like smartphones, camera to store a high amount of data. But there is a problem using an SD card on your devices. All the cards aren’t durable enough for storing a large amount of data. Again, SD card has a write limit. Sometimes data stored in sd card are damaged for an unknown reason. For that reason, Apple doesn’t allow sd card slots on their smartphones.
Is It Related To Memory Size?
The answer is NO. You may have a class 4 SD card having storage of 32GB. Or you may have a class 10 SD card having a storage of 4GB. Which one is better for your device? After reading this article, you surely know the answer. Having less storage than the class 4 SD card, obviously, the class 10 SD card is better than the class 4 SD card in terms of durability and speed.
Summing Up
Do you need additional storage for your devices? SD cards are there to help you out. You can insert an SD card in your device to have that. But your device must have a card slot for that task. You may add additional storage of 2GB to 128GB regarding on the support of your device. But you must think about the sd card classes before inserting it in your device. Reading this article, now you know all the things about SD card which can give you an additional storage at a low price to help you out for performing your desired task.
