This cheap 1TB microSD memory card underlines a big failure in the storage industry

A person holding a tray containing a Sandisk Ultra microSD
(Image credit: Sandisk)
SanDisk 1TB Ultra MicroSDXC UHS-I microSD card - $230 $179.99 at Amazon (roughly £135/AU$246)
$179.99 at Amazon

SanDisk 1TB Ultra MicroSDXC UHS-I microSD card - $230 $179.99 at Amazon (roughly £135/AU$246)
This 1TB microSD card from SanDisk is currently available at 22% off the suggested retail price. It's a firm fan-favorite, so grab it while you can - just make sure your camera or laptop is compatible first.

If you're looking for an excellent removable storage deal, Amazon has slashed the price of the SanDisk Ultra 1TB MicroSDXC UHS-I Memory Card from $229.99 to $179.99 - a saving of about 22%. You can also purchase the card from Western Digital for the same price.

First announced in 2019, this SanDisk microSD card (SDSQUA4-1T00-AN6MA) is currently the cheapest way to transport 1TB of data and there are very few microSD cards of similar capacity on the market.

Although full-sized SDXC cards can't be used in your smartphone, many are compatible with cameras and laptops that take expandable SD storage.

With a read speed of up to 120MBps and write speeds of 90MBps, the card is not compatible with the new V30 speed class, but should record videos at full HD without a hitch.

SanDisk also claims it has built-in write protect to safeguard your content, but it's unclear whether the microSD card is waterproof, shockproof or X-Ray proof.

Because it's so small, Amazon will also ship the microSD card to a number of non-US territories for a small additional fee, including the UK.

For now, Micron, Integral and SanDisk are the only vendors to have announced a 1TB microSD card, with two smaller players (PNY and Silicon Power) expected to follow suit.

We reviewed the 1TB Micron MicroSD card and were impressed by its performance, but it still appears to be missing from retail shelves, one year after launch.

Several other major players are currently selling 512GB microSD cards - including the likes of Samsung, Kingston and Teamgroup - but none have confirmed when they will offer a 1TB version.

While solid state drives (SSDs) have fallen in price and increased in capacity significantly, memory cards have not followed the same trend, which is both perplexing and disappointing. It is likely that demand is simply not there, with smartphones with large capacities and ubiquitous fast wireless broadband making high capacity memory cards less desirable.

Bear in mind

  • If the Ultra MicroSDXC isn't available in your region, you may have to use a specialist parcel forwarding service to take advantage of the deal.
  • If you've managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we'll tip our hat to you.
Desire Athow
Managing Editor, TechRadar Pro

Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.

Latest in Pro
A stressed employee looking over some graphs
UK workers are spending more than one day per week tracking down information
A man working on his laptop.
Keep your company’s sensitive data safe with Dashlane— now 25% off Business and Business Plus plans for a limited time
A person holding out their hand with a digital AI symbol.
How AI can help the UK’s scale-ups realize the growth agenda
An American flag flying outside the US Capitol building against a blue sky
Sean Plankey selected as CISA director by President Trump
A young man working on laptop in office writing notes
Ending the fix/break cycle of End User Computing support
OpenAI
OpenAI wants to help your business build its next generation of AI agents
Latest in News
Man having Windows 11 problems with his laptop
Fed up of adverts creeping into Windows 11? You won’t like Microsoft’s latest update, then, although it does provide some important bug fixes
Apple Siri
Update your Apple device now: iOS 18.3.2 fixes a flaw that could be exploited by hackers
Google Chromecast 2
Chromecasts are still broken – but Google tells fuming owners not to factory reset their devices
ChatGPT
ChatGPT wants to write your next novel, and readers and writers alike should be very worried
Garmin Instinct 3 next to the Apple Watch Ultra 2
New figures claim the smartwatch market just shrunk for the first time ever, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is to blame
Hitman: World of Assassination on PSVR 2.
Hitman: World of Assassination hits PSVR 2 soon, finally giving you a reason to dust off your headset