Phones With Expandable Memory: Who Still Has a Card Slot

The memory card slot has become a cheap-phone feature. We went through the spec sheets for the phones on Samsung’s, Motorola’s, Google’s, Nothing’s and Apple’s US stores, and the dearest one that still takes a microSD card is the Moto G Stylus 2026 at about $500. Above that, the makers sell you built-in storage at their own prices.

That Moto G Stylus is also the one we would buy. It has a 1TB card slot, a headphone jack and wireless charging in the same phone.

This page was first written in 2020 around five flagships, led by the Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy Note 10 Plus, all chosen because they had a slot. Samsung’s support page for the Galaxy S26 line now says in a single sentence that external SD cards are not supported. That is the story of this whole subject.

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Phones that still take a card

Prices are the makers’ own US store prices, rounded. The card size is the largest each maker says the phone supports.

Two notes on the table. Motorola’s store was selling the Moto G Play and the Moto G for about $50 under those list prices when we looked. And Samsung’s US pages give the card size but not the audio socket, so the headphone column for the two Galaxy phones comes from Samsung India’s spec sheets for the same models, which list USB-C.

All six are 5G phones.

What has gone

These are the makers’ own statements or spec sheets.

• Samsung Galaxy S26, S26+, S26 Ultra and S26 FE. Samsung’s comparison page says external SD cards are not supported and suggests cloud storage.
• Samsung Galaxy A57 5G and A37 5G. Samsung says they do not support external memory cards. In the Galaxy A range the slot now stops at the A27 5G.
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 and Z Flip8. Samsung’s comparison page for the folding phones lists fixed storage options and no card.
• Motorola Edge 2026 and the Razr phones. Motorola lists built-in storage only: 128GB on the Edge and 256GB or 512GB on the Razrs. On Motorola’s US store the slot belongs to the Moto G phones.
• Google Pixel. Google’s spec sheets for the Pixel 11 phones and the Pixel 10a list built-in storage and nothing else.
• Nothing. Neither the Phone (4a) Pro nor the Phone (3) lists a card slot.
• iPhone. Apple’s spec pages list fixed capacities only.

The reason this matters is what built-in storage costs. Samsung asks about $1,400 for the Galaxy S26 Ultra with 256GB and about $1,600 for the same phone with 512GB. That is $200 for 256GB more. The 1TB version is about $2,000.

Dedicated or hybrid slot

A dedicated slot holds a card and nothing else. A hybrid slot holds either a second SIM or a card, so you give up one to have the other.

• Motorola describes the Moto G, Moto G Play and Moto G Power as one physical SIM, an eSIM and a microSD card together, and calls the slot on the Moto G Stylus dedicated. You can run two lines and a card at once, as long as one line is an eSIM.
• Samsung lists the Galaxy A17 5G and A27 5G on its Indian site as SIM 1 plus a hybrid slot for a SIM or a microSD card.
• Xiaomi lists the Redmi Note 17 the same way.

If you carry two physical SIMs, which is common in India and Nigeria, check this line on the spec sheet before anything else.

What a card can and cannot do

A card is for files: photos, video, music and downloads. Samsung’s microSD support page describes it as a way to add space and move pictures, music or data between devices.

It is not a way to turn a 128GB phone into a 2TB phone for apps. Android has a feature called adoptable storage, which its documentation describes as formatting and encrypting a card so that it can hold apps and private data like internal storage. Samsung’s page says plainly that its Android devices do not support that feature. On a Galaxy A17 5G, apps live on the 128GB inside.

We did not find a statement from Motorola either way, so we would not count on a card to hold apps on a Moto G. Buy the built-in storage for your apps and the card for everything else. This is why we would be wary of the 64GB Moto G Play.

Samsung’s page also explains the labels. A microSDHC card holds up to 32GB. A microSDXC card holds from 32GB up to 2TB, and that is the type to buy for a phone that supports 1TB or 2TB.

The six phones

Moto G Stylus 2026, about $500

Our pick. Motorola lists 128GB of storage, with a 256GB version sold only on its own site, a dedicated slot for cards of up to 1TB, a headphone jack and 15W wireless charging. It is the only phone here with wireless charging, and the only one with an AMOLED screen and 8GB of memory together. Moto G Stylus 2026 on Amazon

Moto G Power 2026, about $400

The sensible cheaper choice: 128GB, a 1TB card, a headphone jack and 8GB of memory. The screen is a 6.8-inch LCD. Moto G Power 2026 on Amazon

Samsung Galaxy A27 5G, about $380

128GB and 6GB of memory, with cards of up to 2TB. It has a 120Hz Super AMOLED screen, which the Motorolas at this price do not. There is no headphone jack. Samsung Galaxy A27 5G on Amazon

Moto G 2026, about $300

128GB and a 1TB card, with a headphone jack. It has 4GB of memory and a 720p screen, and those are the reasons to spend the extra on the G Power. Moto G 2026 on Amazon

Samsung Galaxy A17 5G, about $270

The cheapest of Samsung’s four Galaxy A phones in the US, with 128GB, 4GB of memory and cards of up to 2TB. Samsung Galaxy A17 5G on Amazon

Moto G Play 2026, about $250

The cheapest way to a card slot, and the one with the least room inside: 64GB and 4GB of memory. Moto G Play 2026 on Amazon

Three of the six have 4GB of memory. We explain why we would avoid that in our guide to how much RAM a phone needs.

Outside the US

The pattern is the same elsewhere: the slot is on the cheaper phones.

• Xiaomi. Its global site lists expandable storage of up to 2TB on the Redmi 17, the Redmi Note 17 and the Redmi Note 17 5G, all through a hybrid slot. The spec page for the dearer Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G does not mention a card.
• Samsung. The Galaxy A17 5G and A27 5G on Samsung India’s site take cards of up to 2TB through a hybrid slot.
• HMD. Its international site lists card support of up to 1TB on the HMD Fusion and up to 512GB on the HMD Skyline.

Xiaomi adds a caution worth repeating: support for a given card can vary between card makers. Buy from a brand you know.

Which to pick

• The best phone with a card slot: the Moto G Stylus 2026 at about $500.
• Under $400: the Moto G Power 2026 if you want a headphone jack and more memory, or the Galaxy A27 5G if you want an AMOLED screen.
• Two physical SIMs and a card: none of the phones we checked does all three. With a Moto G you can have two lines and a card if one line is an eSIM.
• A flagship with a card slot: we did not find one on these stores. Buy more built-in storage, or keep files in the cloud.

A card is most useful for films and music saved for offline use. If that is your reason, our guide to the best phones for watching video covers the screens and speakers of the same phones.

Quick answers

Does the Samsung Galaxy S26 have an SD card slot?

No. Samsung says external SD cards are not supported on the Galaxy S26, S26+, S26 Ultra or S26 FE.

Which Samsung phones have an SD card slot?

On Samsung’s US store, the Galaxy A17 5G and the Galaxy A27 5G. Both take cards of up to 2TB.

Do Pixel phones have an SD card slot?

No. Google’s spec sheets for the Pixel 11 phones and the Pixel 10a list built-in storage only.

Which phones have an SD card slot and a headphone jack?

The Moto G Play, Moto G, Moto G Power and Moto G Stylus, all 2026 models. Motorola lists a 3.5mm jack and a 1TB card slot on each.

Which phones have an SD card slot and wireless charging?

Of the six we found, only the Moto G Stylus 2026, which charges wirelessly at 15W.

How big a memory card can a phone take?

Motorola says up to 1TB for its Moto G phones. Samsung and Xiaomi say up to 2TB.

Prices move, so confirm on the maker’s store before you pay.