Why SD Ports In Hubs?

[jparker402]

I know the answer seems obvious = for folks who use SD cards. I am shopping for a hub, and I have never had a device that used an SD card. I guess they are for cameras. Was wondering if I was overlooking some use for SD cards. Maybe they are intended to be a built-in SSD?

 

[russell_314]

Digital cameras. Macs are extremely popular with photographers. I don’t think you could use an SD card for an SSD or at least in any practical sense. Even the fastest SD cards are significantly slower than an SSD.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

It is a very cheap way of making backups these days. They take up no space at all, so you can easily hide it away, and the cost is very low. Also, you can use it for sharing files with friends and family, as an alternative to CD/DVDs.

 

[Slartibart]

Additionally microSD cards used in mobiles can easily read (using a usually with the cards included adapter)

 

[cthompson94]

I basically only use my SD card for my camera/drone. I previously used a hub, but I just recently bought the apple SD card to usb-c cable since the profile was a little bit smaller.

 

[jparker402]

I basically only use my SD card for my camera/drone. I previously used a hub, but I just recently bought the apple SD card to usb-c cable since the profile was a little bit smaller.

Wow! Hadn't thought about drones! I've never been around one but I bet they really are handy for that.

 

[cthompson94]

Wow! Hadn't thought about drones! I've never been around one but I bet they really are handy for that.

Yeah, only few drones have built in storage and if they do then it doesn't have much, thus needing a micro sd card especially since modern drones film at 4k and can produce pretty decent resolution still images

 

[InuNacho]

On my old 2012 cMBP I bought a MicroSD card adapter and a newer 128GB Micro SD card to use as an iTunes library.
I'm sure if you have a dock/hub you can do something else, like a dedicated disk but for cheap music storage it's great!

 

[dandeco]

My Canon Vixia HF-R600 camcorder stores footage onto an SD card, and it's quicker and easier to just slide the card into a reader and import the footage into my computer that way via iMovie or whatever. I also still sometimes use a Canon PowerShot still camera that uses an SD card for certain photo opportunities where using my phone wouldn't be practical. So I still like to have an SD card reader available, including if it's on a hub like my Falwedi USB-C hub I use with my M1 MacBook Air when on the go, or the CalDigit TS3+ Thunderbolt 3 dock when I use the Air in clamshell/desktop mode.

 

[AZhappyjack]

I know the answer seems obvious = for folks who use SD cards. I am shopping for a hub, and I have never had a device that used an SD card. I guess they are for cameras. Was wondering if I was overlooking some use for SD cards. Maybe they are intended to be a built-in SSD?

The more correct question is "why not?" ... SD and micro SD cards are convenient devices for transferring photos and video from the cameras into computers. Just because you don't need/use them does not mean that they are not convenient (even necessary) for others.