Samsung tests function to merge SD card with internal storage in Pie beta

In the Android Pie beta for the Galaxy Note 9, Samsung is testing a function to merge the internal storage with the storage of a memory card. That function has been in the operating system since Android 6.0, but many manufacturers do not use it.

The feature is called “adoptable storage,” and an XDA user has posted screenshots of the feature on a Galaxy Note 9 running the Android 9.0 Pie beta. In addition, the interface allows the user to choose how they want to use the SD card. By merging the internal storage with the SD card, apps that normally only reside on internal storage can also be placed on the SD card. On the other hand, users cannot read the SD card in other devices. Then it is necessary to format the card.

Merging the SD card and internal storage is not going well yet, the user says; the process stopped at around 40 percent. The existence of the interface for the feature indicates that Samsung wants to implement “adoptable storage” in its Android 9.0 firmware. That should happen with the release of the stable versions of the firmware.

Adoptable storage is a feature that came in Android in 6.0. It is mainly intended for cheap smartphones, where users can expand the limited storage of, for example, 8GB or 16GB. Phones normally limit which files can be stored on the micro-SD card, so that apps, for example, always end up on the internal storage.