Samsung EVO Plus microSD Memory Card

Last spring, Samsung launched a new line of advanced SD and microSD cards. Completely redesigned with bright, color-coded hues, these memory cards were available in PRO, EVO and Standard models for use in many different consumer electronic devices. Where the Standard model offered solid performance for mobile phones and compact digital cameras, the EVO's greater capacities and Ultra High Speed (UHS-I) Class 1 level performance made it an ideal choice for smart phones and tablets. With the PRO, Samsung upped the ante even further, offering faster read and write speeds for use with Full HD camcorders and DSLR cameras.

Following through on their promise to deliver next-generation memory cards with faster speeds and greater capacities, Samsung recently added two new models to its lineup. Along with a new and improved version of the PRO, the company introduced the EVO Plus. Available in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities, the EVO Plus is equipped to meet the ever-increasing demands of smartphone, tablet, compact camera and Full HD camcorder users. This UHS-I Class 1 card has 80 MB/s read and 20 MB/s write speeds, making it excellent for video recording and playback in Full HD, quick file transfers, and fast loading of apps.

To ensure the reliability of Samsung's new memory cards, the company has designed them to be waterproof, temperature proof, X-ray proof and magnet proof, allowing them to withstand some of the harshest conditions. The EVO Plus is guaranteed to survive up to 72 hours in seawater and endure operating temperatures from -25°C to 85°C (-13°F to 185°F) and non-operating temperatures from -40°C to 85°C (-40°F to 185°F). Data stored in the card will not be affected by X-rays and can resist up to 15,000 gauss magnetic force - the equivalent of a high-field MRI scanner.

Packaging:

Like most other memory cards, Samsung's EVO Plus microSD card comes packaged in a cardboard blister pack. The front of the packaging advertises many of the card's key features including its capacity, class rating and rated speeds. The pictures on the front also serve a purpose as they are there to help consumers choose a card based on their intended use. In this case, the pictures suggest that Samsung's EVO Plus microSD card is ideal for tablets.

The back of the packaging provides a bit more information regarding the features and capabilities of Samsung's EVO Plus microSD card. Along with the card's UHS speed class rating, the packaging shows that it is covered by a 10 year warranty and is water, magnet, temperature and x-ray proof.

Physical Features:

One of the biggest changes Samsung made to their new line of SD and microSD cards is their appearance. Instead of boring black, they now come in bright, color-coded hues. In the case of Samsung's new EVO Plus card, the top is white and orangish-red in color with a black stripe. It also has a large Samsung logo and clearly shows the capacity, model and UHS speed class.

As you'd expect, Samsung's new microSD card is quite small. It measures 15 x 11 x 1 mm and weighs in at about 0.5g. Nevertheless, the card is surprisingly tough as it can survive up to 72 hours in seawater, endure up to 1500G shocks and protect your data against damage from airport x-ray machines.

Samsung's new microSD card ships with an SD adapter. Simply insert the card into the adapter and you can use it with mobile devices as well as various SD-enabled devices such as digital cameras, laptops, printers etc. This also lets you easily transfer photos, music and video content on your microSD card from mobile devices to a PC or any device with an SD slot.

Performance:

The test system used in this review was an HP 8200 Elite. The computer is equipped with an Intel Core i5-2400 CPU, 4GB of DDR3 1333MHz memory, Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3250312AS 250GB SATA 6 Gb/s hard drive, NVIDIA Quadro FX580 512MB PCIe graphics card, Intel 82567LM-3 gigabit network card, Patriot SuperSpeed USB PCIe host card and a Transcend TS-RDF5K USB 3.0 card reader. For the operating system, I installed a fresh copy of Windows 8.1 Enterprise.

To test the performance of Samsung's EVO Plus microSD card, I ran a series of benchmarks using CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1 and ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46.

CrystalDiskMark 3.0:

First, I ran a few quick tests using CrystalDiskMark. This benchmark tool measures the performance of a storage device by testing its sequential read and write speeds as well as its random read and write speeds using blocks 512K and 4K in size.

Samsung EVO Plus 64GB microSD

Samsung EVO 16GB microSD

According to Samsung, the EVO Plus microSD card is capable of reading at 80MB/s and writing at 20MB/s. Looking at the screenshots above, you can see that it had no problems reaching these numbers in CrystalDiskMark's sequential read and write speed tests.

ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46:

I also used ATTO Disk Benchmark to test the EVO Plus microSD card's sequential read and write speeds. The test was run using blocks ranging in size from 0.5KB to 8192KB and the total length set to 256MB.

Samsung EVO Plus 64GB microSD

Samsung EVO 16GB microSD

When tested with ATTO, the EVO Plus microSD card's read speeds topped out at about 94 MB/s and its write speeds at 30 MB/s.

Final Thoughts:

The EVO Plus is a welcome addition to Samsung's already impressive line of SD and microSD cards. Filling the gap between the original EVO and the PRO, this consumer friendly memory card delivers a lot of bang for your buck. In addition to being water, temperature, X-ray and magnet proof, the EVO Plus offers Ultra High Speed (UHS-I) Class 1 level performance. Like Samsung's previous microSD cards, the EVO Plus performed quite well in our sequential read and write tests. It was able to read at speeds in excess of 90 MB/s and write at a respectable 30 MB/s. Given, these numbers aren't as high as what you'd see with Samsung's new PRO Plus card. However, they are a big improvement over the original EVO, making the EVO Plus an even better choice for use in smartphones, tablets, compact cameras and camcorders.

Samsung's EVO Plus microSD card is available now in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities. Prices on Amazon.com currently range from $29 up to $102, with the 64GB version reviewed here going for about $48.