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Samsung says microSD slot makes up for Galaxy S4's storage shortcomings

Samsung says microSD slot makes up for Galaxy S4's storage shortcomings

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Some buyers of Samsung's new Galaxy S4 have been disappointed to learn that the 16GB model offers only around 8GB of user-accessible storage. However, in a statement to CNET, Samsung is reminding irked customers that they can easily remedy any concerns with the help of the built-in microSD slot. "For the Galaxy S4 16GB model, approximately 6.85GB occupies [the] system part of internal memory," the company said in a statement. That means the system software accounts for about 1GB more than what users saw with the Galaxy S III. Samsung points to the flagship's 1080p display and "more powerful features" as primary reasons for the bigger footprint

"To offer the ultimate mobile experience to our users, Samsung provides [a] microSD slot on Galaxy S4 for extension of memory," the company says. That microSD slot supports cards up to 64GB in size, so even owners of the 16GB hardware can theoretically wind up with more capacity than any version of Apple's iPhone or the HTC One can provide. Unfortunately you can't install Android applications to external storage on the GS4, so the extra room is only good for your documents and media files. Earlier this year Microsoft faced a barrage of criticism from shoppers who found the out-of-box storage of its Surface tablets equally lacking.