Smartphones today have an incredible amount of internal storage space. Some high-end smartphones even have as much as 512GB of storage. That’s as much storage space as some laptops and computers on the market have. Understandably, this may lead one to believe that smartphones have hard drives just like computers do.
So, do smartphones in fact have hard drives? No, smartphones don’t use hard drives as computers do. A smartphone’s internal storage uses solid-state memory, which allows the phone to have a high storage capacity without a great increase in its physical size and weight.
But because a hard drive and solid-state memory are both non-volatile storage devices and pretty much perform the same task of “permanently” storing data, a lot of people confuse the two. However, a hard drive and solid-state memory are very different.
To better understand how smartphones store data internally, you need to first understand what a hard drive actually is, how it works and why it’s not the best option for smartphones.
What is a hard drive?
The term “hard drive” is often used interchangeably by a lot of people to refer to any form of internal (or external) mass storage device, no matter whether it uses an electro-mechanical system or solid-state flash memory. This can cause confusion because even though both of them function to store data long-term, hard drives and solid-state drives are fundamentally different storage devices.
A hard drive (also known as a hard disk drive or HDD) is a mechanical, permanent storage device that is operated electronically. It is usually installed inside a computer and attached directly to the motherboard. However, external hard drives are also commonly found on the market.
The sole purpose of a hard drive is to store and retrieve digital data. It does so using a magnetic storage system that accesses data in a random-access manner, which means data can be stored and retrieved in any order.
The data stored on a hard drive is not just personal files and downloads. The internal hard drive is where computers store long-term data such as the code for the operating system, drivers for hardware and accessories, and other system data.
Every hard drive has a capacity in terms of how much storage space it has. Some of that space is taken up by system files and backups, but the rest can be filled with data of your choice.
How does a hard drive work
Inside a typical computer hard disk drive
A hard disk drive uses magnetism and spinning disks to store information. It works almost pretty much the same way a record player works. When a record player spins the record, a long arm with a “head” at the end moves over the record and reads the bumps and grooves in the record to reproduce the sound recorded onto the record.
Similarly, a hard disk drive has a platter with a thin magnetic coating that spins around, just like a record. It writes data in the digital form of 1s and 0s using a “head” that moves across the platter and creates small areas of magnetic North or South on the platter.
To read the stored data back, the “head” goes back to the same spot and reads the magnetised North and South areas, and determines the stored 1 and 0 data. The computer then interprets the 1s and 0s into data you can use.
How do smartphones store data?
Samsung’s embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) module.
It would be very impractical for smartphones to use hard drives. Hard drives are big, heavy, and don’t like being dropped. And since smartphones are small, lightweight, and fall more often than most electronic devices, smartphone manufacturers had to find an alternative for storage, and they did.
Smartphones use solid-state flash memory, which is a non-volatile (retains data even when not powered) type of storage that has no moving parts. Flash memory is also more physically resistant to shock, it’s quieter, smaller, and it runs faster. It’s perfect for smartphones and other mobile electronic devices.
The type of Flash memory used in smartphones is known as NAND flash memory. It’s the same type of flash memory that’s found in SSDs (solid-state drives), USB flash drives, digital cameras, and other portable devices.
A lot of people confuse flash memory with SSD. Although solid-state drives (SSDs) can and do use flash memory, flash memory is not an SSD. Think of flash memory as a format and an SSD as the hardware.
It’s just like how a Blu-ray player can play Blu-rays (and DVDs/CDs), but Blu-rays are not a Blu-ray player. The Blu-ray player and the SSD are both hardware. Flash memory, just like a Blu-ray disc, is a format.
Can you connect a hard drive to a smartphone?
The simplest answer is yes, you can. But it depends on which smartphone it is and what type of hard drive it is.
Firstly, for you to be able to connect a hard drive to your smartphone, your phone must support USB OTG. If it’s compatible, then you’re good to go. Just make sure you have the correct USB OTG adapter. To check if your smartphone supports USB OTG, you can simply Google your phone model to find out.
The other issue is the hard drive. Hard drives need power in order to operate, which they get from a computer. Smartphones can only provide a fraction of the power a computer does. If the smartphone’s supply of power is not enough for the hard drive, it may give you problems (but they can be solved).
But before you even try to connect a hard drive to your smartphone, you need to make sure that the drive is formatted correctly. NTFS media will not be recognized. You’re better off with a FAT32 format hard drive.
Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro external hard drive
If you don’t have a smartphone with USB OTG support, there is a way to connect a hard drive to a smartphone, but it can only be done wirelessly. If you have a wireless hard drive, then you can use Wi-Fi to connect to it and access the files you need.
The Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro pictured above is a good example. It’s a 3TB external hard drive with its own Wi-Fi hotspot you can connect to. It’s got a long-lasting battery that can also work as a power bank to keep your phone charged while transferring files. It’s available from Amazon.
Other storage options
If your smartphone supports USB OTG, then you can plug in other USB devices such as a USB memory stick. USB memory sticks don’t need as much power as hard drives to operate, so plugging one into your compatible smartphone shouldn’t be a problem at. So, even if you can’t connect a hard drive, it’s good to know that you can at least still connect a USB stick.
Another option for extra storage for your smartphone is a memory card if your smartphone has a slot for one. But in a lot of cases, smartphones with hundreds of gigabytes of storage space don’t usually have a memory card slot.
However, there are some that have hybrid dual SIM card slots that can accommodate either a SIM card or a memory card.
Conclusion
So, although smartphones don’t have hard disk drives, they do use solid-state memory in the form of NAND flash memory. This technology is what allows smartphones to have as much storage space as one would expect to find on a computer hard disk drive.
However, if you do want to connect a hard drive to your smartphone, it’s good to know that there are ways of making that happen if your smartphone is USB OTG compatible. You can even plug in a normal USB memory stick, which should work without a problem.
