Nano Slot
Huawei launched Nano Memory last year, a proprietary memory solution of its own design. It was an intriguing prospect: a newer, smaller memory card for increasingly compact phones. Yet it was hard to get excited about this format without the backing of major memory card developers and other OEMs. How many of us would ever have a chance to use these cards, anyway?
Several months after its launch, we’re taking a look at the current state of the format, and where it’s heading in the future.
The mechanics of using a nano SIM in a non-nano phone are simple enough. First choose the appropriate adapter – in this case the nano to micro one – pop in your SIM card and then pop the SIM/adapter combo in the card slot. Nano SIM cards will be the best bet for most newer phones. Win NANO playing entertaining casino games! VERSION 2.2 (2020.07.05)- General -LUCKY NANO is now available in French! You may choose the language of your choice by opening the main menu.
Don’t miss: Huawei Mate 20 Pro review Huawei P30 Pro hands-on
What is Nano Memory?
Nano Memory is an expandable storage format developed by Huawei. It’s similar to microSD, though it’s smaller. These cards are the same size as a Nano SIM card (about 45 percent smaller than microSD). They fit into Huawei’s dual-Nano SIM card trays rather than a separate card slot.
Huawei has three of these cards available currently in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB sizes, though the 64GB model is fairly hard to come by. They all feature 90MB/s read speeds.
What are the advantages of Nano Memory?
Nano Memory cards are functionally the same as microSD cards, so outside of size and speed, consumers will have the same experience with either. Device manufacturers, however, may see a larger benefit in using Nano Memory.
The best microSD cards available right now
If OEMs adopt the tech, they could free-up space inside their smartphones for other components. That doesn’t just mean a smaller version of the (already small) microSD card slot, though; Nano Memory cards fit in Huawei’s dual-Nano SIM trays, removing the need for an extra memory slot entirely.
That may seem like a small advantage, but physical space is a commodity in phones, and microSD card support itself dictates decisions about a smartphone circuit board’s design and placement. Utilizing the SIM tray for expandable memory may give manufacturers more options in how they design their devices and the components they use.
All of that being said, microSD is already slight, and it doesn’t interfere with other physical aspects of the phone like how you hold it, or its IP rating. We also don’t yet know what advantages, if any, Nano Memory has offered Huawei in smartphone design.
Without a big incentive, manufacturers will be reluctant to adopt a patented technology from one of their major mobile competitors.
What are the disadvantages of Nano Memory?
Nano Memory is expensive for the comparative performance of a similar microSD card. At the time of writing, Huawei’s 128GB Nano Memory card costs around 49 euros (~$55) on Amazon and eBay. MicroSD cards can cost less than half that for the same memory and higher read speeds.
You also have far fewer options when it comes to the gigabytes of storage they offer, and their write speeds. MicroSD card storage goes up to 512GB (and will soon be available in expensive 1TB versions), and there are numerous options with 90MB/s read speeds and above — some with more than double that.
The best Android phones with expandable memory
However, possibly the biggest Nano Memory card disadvantage, which we’ll discuss further below, is support. It’s quite easy to find an Android phone that works with the microSD cards you may have picked up over the years, but if you invest in a Nano Memory card, you’ll only be able to use it on select Huawei phones.
Further, since these cards currently occupy a SIM tray slot, you’ll have to choose between using a second SIM card or expandable storage. That’s fine if you only use one SIM card, but it might be a bind for those who need two.
Which phones support Nano Memory?
So far, your only options for Nano Memory is to buy a Huawei phone, and your choices there are limited to the higher-end. Below is the list of supported devices:
Which OEMs support Nano Memory?
Huawei is currently the only company to support the Nano Memory format. Huawei’s Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu said last year Huawei was in talks with other companies to produce Nano Memory chips in the future — Huawei wants them to be the industry standard — but so far we haven’t seen any here in the west.
I contacted memory card industry leader SanDisk about its potential to sell Nano Memory cards down the line and Ruben Dennenwaldt, the Senior Manager of Product Marketing at Western Digital, said:
We currently don’t have / support the Nano [Memory] Card standard from Huawei. While we obviously closely monitor the market, there are currently no plans to support this standard.
Until it’s supported on more phones, that market will grow at a snail’s pace.
Today, Nano Memory is just an expensive expandable storage format only a handful of phones support. There’s no reason to buy a Nano Memory card unless a person requires one for a specific Huawei smartphone.
In the future, if it helps OEMs produce phones, Nano Memory might become much more commonplace. But progress in the last five months has been marginal. It’s only available on a handful of phones, and as long as it’s reserved for higher-tier devices, it may struggle to reach mainstream appeal.
Because, critically, this is not a high-end feature. Something that belongs inside the device has been made smaller — it’s hard to sell that to consumers. Huawei will have to convince OEMs of the technology’s potential first, and if its early progress is any indication, it’s going to struggle to do this.
Read next:Best Android phones with expandable memory
Nowadays, the smartphone market is filled with different type of smartphones. You will find variation in the processor, RAM, storage space, camera, technology and various other features. Some phones are better than others in one thing or other. So, even we can’t know which phone we are going to buy after 3 months. However, the overall technology is improving. It’s moving forward. And, in the forward direction, we can be sure about at least these things that fast variants of the current phone will be coming, new phones with more RAM, slim design will appear.
Looking at the statistics, we can be sure about one more important thing – Nano SIM cards are the future. Mini SIM cards (2FF) have already become obsolete as this SIM card size is only being used by old or very low budget phone. Read the rumors, facts & reviews about upcoming smartphones on TechieWord. New smartphones which are coming to the market or the good smartphones who are ruling the market from past few years (in every price category) support either Micro SIM cards or Nano SIM Card. And, if you seek for popular smartphone, most of them support only Nano-SIM card.
So, if you’re going to buy a new SIM card from any telecom operator, choose their combi SIM card which comes with Mini SIM & Micro SIM cards support or trio SIM which supports all three type of SIM cards Mini SIM (2FF), Micro SIM (3FF) and Nano SIM (4FF) all in one SIM. If you own a trio SIM you can use it as a Nano SIM or club together the pieces to create Micro SIM or Mini SIM out of it.
However, if you are not looking for buying new SIM card but use your current number (SIM Card) to your new smartphone instead which supports only Nano SIM card then the only option left is to cut Mini or Micro SIM card to Nano SIM Card Size. You need to cut your SIM card very carefully to Nano SIM card size because if any mistake happens and you end up cutting SIM card circuits, it will be dead and you won’t be able to use it anymore on any device. But, no worries we are here to guide you step-by-step on how to cut your Mini or Micro SIM to Nano SIM.
Before following this article to know how to cut your SIM card to Nano SIM Card, remember once you’ve cut the SIM card there’s no going back. After cutting your SIM Card to Nano-SIM card size, you can’t use it in any other phones having Micro or Mini SIM card slot.
How to Convert Mini/Micro SIM to Nano SIM
While cutting your Regular or Micro SIM Card to Nano SIM card, the size of your SIM card should be accurate to Millimeters (not more and not less) to make it work properly as Nano SIM card. So, it’s risky to cut the SIM Card by just measuring dimensions. To cut your SIM card safely to Nano SIM card, follow these steps to ensure success:
Step 1: Get the SIM Card Cutting Template
The best way to cut SIM card is to do it using SIM cutting template because there is no UNDO in real life. If you make any mistake, there is no going back. So, you need to cut SIM card to the exact Nano SIM Card size and for that, use the standard SIM card cutting template.
Download SIM Card Cutting Template from here which contains template to cut MiniSIM to MicroSIM, MicroSIM to NanoSIM and MicroSIM to NanoSIM. Print this SIM Card Template at 100% scale on a DIN A4 sheet and you will have the perfect SIM Card cutting template with exact sizes to trace for your SIM Card.
Step 2: Trace Cut Lines to your SIM Card
Once you have printed out the template, choose whether you want to cut MiniSIM to MicroSIM, MicroSIM to NanoSIM or MicroSIM to NanoSIM and on the desired section, put your SIM card over the cut lines sketch. Now, trace the cut lines over your SIM card which have been hidden by SIM card.
Use a permanent marker to trace cut lines over your SIM card and to ensure precision, you can even tape the SIM card above sketch (like above image).
Step 3: Cut The SIM Card
Nano Solutions
Now, the most careful step comes when you need to cut the SIM card. Once you’ve traced cut lines, pick SIM card from the SIM Card template. Now, take a sharp knife and cut your SIM card to appropriate size slowly.
Once done, insert your newly created Nano SIM card to the Nano SIM card slot and check it. Your SIM card should be working correctly.
Bonus Tip
Using the above method, you will be able to cut your Regular (Mini) or Micro SIM card to Nano SIM card size perfectly but by this method, you won’t be able to use the Nano SIM to Micro SIM or Regular SIM. However, if you use trio or even SIM card cutters (available on Amazon) it can cut your SIM card to the desired size in such a way that you can club the pieces together to form Micro or Regular SIM card out of it again.