Best way to backup to physical storage?

[useraX8ElEfWUP]

So, i may be going from an S20 to an S25 in the near future, and i use a microSD card to keep a backup of my phone and store various files, and it also serves as a quick and easy file transfer system between phone and pc, but it appears the S25 and everything else modern don't have an SD card slot. Is there something else i can buy and attach to use in the same way or am i basically stuck buying a usb to usbc adapter and a flash drive to plug into my phone on a regular basis?

Before anyone suggests it, no, i'm not looking for cloud storage options

[Tom6068]

Purchase a USB C drive that will connect to the device directly and copy away to that device.

[useraX8ElEfWUP]

Do they make one that i can just plug in and leave on through my day to day, even while charging?

[Tom6068]

Yes, just look up the USB drive with a type C connector.

[Mujibar]

You want to constantly have an external drive attached, even WHILE charging? You won't be able to do that, unless you get an adapter or hub that allows you to attach multiple devices and has a charging pass-through.

Also, external drives tend to get hot because of power being supplied to the USB-C port for data transfer. I wouldn't want to have one perpetually attached to my phone.

[useraX8ElEfWUP]

Yeah, i figured. Honestly the missing microSD slot does make the s25 feel like a downgrade from the S20.

[Mujibar]

Micro SD slots are unlikely to return to the S-series. There are still some A-series phones that have them, but at the cost of flagship specs & features.

[useraX8ElEfWUP]

Yeah, which, it's tempting to go for the A series instead just to get the microSD slot. I'd have more use for a microSD slot than anything AI, but i'm not sure how well the A series will handle updated apps and such going forward. Hate to say it ut i might have to start looking beyond samsung devices

[nullandvoid]

The A series is just fine as long as you get the 3x or 5x models.  Limited AI and very good performance.

[grnidlady61]

I also am very distraught that they no longer put SD cards on the new phones I still have one in my phone. Please Galaxy start adding SD cards to your phones again. My photos that I take with my phone should not be held hostage for you to make more money off of me by forcing me to pay for the cloud. That is poor customer service in my opinion. It actually Border Lines on unethical practices. Put the SD slots back in the phones for some of us who like to have something tangible in our hands of our pictures that we don't have to jump through hoops to get. They are my photos I should be able to have access to them in whatever way I want and not by having to pay you to hold them for me.

[nullandvoid]

The SD card is never coming back.  There is no need for it.  There are many ways to preserve your data without having to pay for cloud storage.  No one is holding your photos for ransom to buy cloud storage. Flash drives and external hard drives exist, as well as transfer to a computer.  You should be backing up your personal data off the phone regularly anyway.  Back in the days when storage was at a premium price, and phones came with a limited amount, they put in the SD card for easy expansion of the storage space.  At one point, you could even format the SD card to act as an extension of the hard drive so that apps could be stored and run off of it seamlessly, then they took away that ability, so now those phones that still have a card slot can only use it to store personal data.  Flash drives and external card readers are so small now, one can practically always keep one attached to their phone, but it's just as easy to carry one on a key chain and attach it when necessary to copy or transfer your photos off the phone.