Samsung’s new microSD card can record continuously for 16 years
Built for always-on recording devices, the pro endurance range is your dash cam’s new best friend
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Your support makes all the difference.Looking for a microSD card you won’t have to replace until 2038? Samsung has just announced a slate of super-long-lasting microSD cards, which the tech giant claims can record continously for up to 16 years.
Designed to be used in always-on recording devices such as dash cams, doorbell cameras, outdoor security cameras and body cams, Samsung’s pro endurance microSD cards are built to withstand miserable weather conditions, temperature fluctuations and impacts, as well as general wear over time.
To be clear, Samsung’s newest microSD cards don’t store 16 years of video. Devices like dash cams and surveillance hubs continously overwrite old footage as new footage is recorded, but reading and writing data to cards around-the-clock slowly degrades them, reducing their reliability over time until errors start creeping in and the card needs replacing.
The latest Samsung pro endurance cards are built to last 33 times as long as the brand’s speed-optimised microSD cards. This means you can whack one in your smart home security camera or doorbell and not have to worry about it deteriorating with the constant use, and potentially corrupting your footage when you most need it.
Coming in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities it’s built around Samsung’s enterprise-grade NAND flash memory technology. While speed isn’t the focus here, they do have reasonably fast read and write speeds of 100MB/s and 40MB/s, giving them enough bandwidth to record in Full HD or 4K resolutions.
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To hit that impressive 16 year lifespan, you’ll have to record in Full HD using the 256GB version of the card. The 128GB model lasts for eight years, the 64GB model for four years, and the 32GB model for two. Durability can be extended further by recording at lower resolutions, or with less frequent use, but with lifespans this long we expect these microSD cards will outlive whatever they’re slotted into.
Samsung pro endurance 128GB microSD card: £21.45, Cclonline.com
- Capacity: 128GB
- Speed class: Class 10, U3, V30
- Read speed: 100MB/s
- Write speed: 40MB/s
- Endurance: 70,080 hours
- Warranty: Five year limited
The 128GB version of the newest Samsung pro endurance microSD card offers the best balance between storage capacity and durability, with an impressive touted lifespan of eight years of constant, round-the-clock video recording. That makes it ideal for use in devices that record on a continously overwriting loop, like dash cams, helmet cameras and home security systems.
These kinds of microSD cards are cheaper because they’re built for endurance and weather-proofing rather than high-speed data transfer. However, the Class 10 rating and V30 classification means you’ll still get fast enough write speeds for filming in 4K (or dual front-and-rear angles), which is more than enough bandwidth for most devices.
As well as having the lifespan of a medium-sized dog, the pro endurance microSD card is designed to be shielded against X-rays, magnets, water, drops, and temperatures as low as -25C and as high as 85C. We’re not sure what conditions Samsung expects these cards will face, but they’re designed to stand up to them.
Right now CCL has the best price on the 128GB version of the pro endurance microSD card, which comes with an SD adapter for transfering data to an SD-compatible laptop or desktop computer.
Nextbase 622GW: £269, Nextbase.co.uk
- Resolution: Up to 4K
- Field-of-view: 140 degrees
- Frame rate: 30fps at 4K, 60fps at 1080p Full HD, 120fps at 720p HD
- Display: Yes, 3in touch screen
- Voice control: Yes, Alexa built-in
- Audio recording: Yes, optional
- Integrated GPS: Yes
Here’s our dash cam recommendation. The Nextbase 622GW nails the basics with stable, pin-sharp 4K video, then goes above-and-beyond with extra features like Alexa, SOS response and what3words. Some drivers won’t want these extras – and that’s fine, because Nextbase sells simpler, cheaper dash cams too. But for those who do, the 622GW is hard to fault.
The smartphone app isn’t the best, but this is a common complaint with today’s dash cams, where the app is little more than a way to initially set things up, then never used again. Despite that, if you’re looking for a dash cam with all the bells and whistles, this could well be the one for you.
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Storage sorted, now it’s time to check out the best home security cameras to give you ultimate peace of mind