SanDisk has announced today that it will expand its line-up of A1 compatible microSD cards to now include its high-performance 256GB SanDisk Extreme microSDXC memory card. That means, this new memory card will be even faster than the Ultra-series product that Western Digital debuted at CES. Also, Android users will be able to launch apps directly from this A1 microSD card faster than ever before.
The card will have up to 100MB/s read speed; up to 90MB/s write speed, the company’s official press release states. We’ll start to see these new cards next month for $199.99, hopefully we’ll have deals on them shortly after.
The A1 spec allows the SanDisk microSD cards to manage random read input-output access per second (IOPS) of 1,500 and write IOPS of 500, so it can quickly open apps and process accompanying tasks, such as audio, graphics, saved profiles and in-app permissions. With the introduction of the Android Marshmallow 6 and Nougat 7 operating systems, users can expand storage capacity on smartphones by selecting the microSD card as preferred or adoptable storage, which means apps can now be loaded and launched directly from the A1 microSD card. For more information on the new A1 specification, please review the SD Association’s white paper: Application Performance Class: The new class of performance for applications on SD memory cards.
Western Digital is working closely with leading mobile technology industry leaders to deliver an even better consumer app experience with the A1 standard.
“Qualcomm Technologies has always been focused on supporting new opportunities in the mobile ecosystem, and we are excited to be a part of promoting new standards, and related products including the SanDisk portfolio of A1 microSD cards, that drive the industry to create improved solutions for consumers,” said Anand Srinivasan, director, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
The A1 standard is also supported by top ecosystem players including HTC, Huawei, Lava, Lenovo, MediaTek, Meizu, Micromax, Oppo, Vivo and ZTE.
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