Last Updated on September 13, 2019 by Husain Parvez
Looking for the best SD card reader for iPhone and iPad that can help you forget your woes regarding the low storage space? Let’s take a look at the best offerings available in the market and reviewing them one by one.
In the year 2007 when the very first Apple iPhone was released to revolutionize the mobile market, it came with a base storage of 4GB. In times when mobile camera quality was subpar compared to today, and the operating system was not as beefy as the current generation of iOS and Android OS, even a single gigabyte seemed like an overachievement on Apple’s part. However, as the era of mobile devices has progressed, the software component along with the hardware, camera picture quality, and the need for media storage has increased tremendously over the years.
The technology behind expandable storage has also evolved over the years, with 1TB MicroSD cards also available on the market now. Most Android OEMs have realized the need for expandable storage and added the feature to their devices, allowing users to plug in a MicroSD card and enjoy hundreds of gigabytes of extended storage space. Apple continues to capitalize over the phone storage space, just as it has been doing right from the start. However, the high-quality camera that shoots high definition photos and videos, along with media-heavy apps, might make you thirsty for those extra gigabytes.
Apple iCloud Isn’t Enough
So you choose to purchase a 32GB version of the Apple iPhone, hoping that the storage space would be ample for all of your apps, files, photos, videos, and more. Just a couple of years down the line, you end up with an iPhone that is bloated with all sorts of content, and there’s no physical way to make space for more. The only option that is provided to you is using the iCloud service, which is Apple’s way of monetizing at your expense while giving you a mediocre way of adding some virtual gigabytes to the storage space.
However, Apple iCloud is far from perfect and monopolizes the way you use it, without allowing you any means to compartmentalize the data that you add to it. Although there is always an option to move media to a computer using iTunes, it simply doesn’t offer the convenience you deserve. This is where the invention of an SD card reader for iPhone comes in handy, giving you a way to connect an SD card directly to your iPhone or iPad. By utilizing the Lightning connector on your iOS device, the SD card reader allows you to access media files stored on a thumb drive or SD card directly from the iPhone itself.
Best SD Card Reader for iPhone and iPad
Since our mobile devices have become the window we use to view and connect with others across the globe, sharing photos and videos online is made easier with SD card readers for iPhone and iPad, especially when you’re sharing them directly from a DSLR camera. Apart from the official accessory available from Apple, we’ve reviewed a handful of high-quality SD card readers that work with both, iPhone and iPad.
1. Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter
The official accessory from Apple comes as a recognition of the fact that users do need a way to connect external media devices such as pen drives and even cameras to transfer and view photos and videos on the go. However, the USB 2.0 port on the Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter takes things one step further, by allowing you to connect other devices such as an iPad, an iPhone, or even other mobile devices to your iPhone and view the media that is stored on these devices. The adapter comes with its very own Lightning port, allowing you to charge the device while you’re using it to transfer and view media content.
Get the Amazon Lightning USB 3 Camera Adapter
2. FA-STAR SD Card Reader
One of the highest-rated SD card reader for iPhone and iPad that is available at the moment, FA-STAR has managed to solve the issue of media sharing on iOS devices for good. Priced at less than half the cost of the adapter accessory that is offered by Apple, this SD card reader with Lightning port comes with the ability to support all of the popular photo (JPEG, RAW, etc.), and video formats (H.264, MPEG-4, etc.) as well. Offering decent transfer speeds of standard USB 2.0, the FA-STAR SD Card Reader comes with two slots, allowing you to connect both, a regular SD Card, as well as the minuscule MicroSD Card directly.
Get the FA-STAR SD Card Reader
3. Aigouzer SD Card Camera Adapter
Based on the working design of the first generation official Apple Lightning to SD Card adapter, this iteration by Aigouzer matches the original one in terms of performance. The cheapest SD card for iPhone and iPad that you can find the market right now, the SD card reader can support a capacity of up to 64GB and offers decent transfer speeds of up to 16MB/sec. While you do not get an additional Lightning port to charge the iOS device simultaneously or get multiple slots for connection, the Aigouzer iOS SD Card Reader is worth the money.
Get the Aigouzer SD Card Camera Adapter
4. SUNTRSI SD Card Adapter
Taking the ability to share media files among your iPhone, media devices and even your computer one step further, the SD Card USB Adapter by SUNTRSI still manages to be cheaper than Apple’s official accessory. The 4-in-1 design of this adapter comes with a Lightning port for you to directly connect to an iOS device, includes a USB drive on the other end that you can hook into a computer directly, gives you the ability to add a MicroSD card through the slot, and also comes with a USB Type-C connector port, allowing you to share content with Android devices as well. There are two additional slots on the side of the adapter that grant you the ability to hook up a MicroSD and SD Card to the rig as well.
Get the SUNTRSI SD Card Adapter
5. Nousija SD TF Card Reader
Based on a similar design concept as that of the official adapter that Apple has developed, but this third-party accessory comes with a bunch of more additions. The 4-in-1 adapter comes with a Lightning port that allows you to hook up a Lightning cable to simultaneously charge the device while using it, a Micro SD slot, an SD Card slot, and finally, a USB 2.0 port as well, so that you can use a USB cable to hook up any media device directly to your iPhone or iPad. Offering high transfer speeds across devices of up to 16MBs/sec, you don’t need any third-party app to use the Nousija SD TF Card Reader with your iOS device.
Get the Nousija SD TF Card Reader
Bonus: SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive 64GB for iPhone and iPad
If you are not looking for a way to just view and transfer content from an SD card, but want to add expandable storage to your iPhone or iPad, the easiest way to do so is using a pen drive that is officially supported by Apple. SanDisk offers an easy way to do so through the iXpand Flash Drive that is available in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and even 256GB variants. The device comes with a USB drive on one side and a Lightning port on the other that you can use to hook up to your iOS device, the iXpand Flash Drive offers high-speed USB 3.0 transfers when connected to the computer. The flexible design of the Lightning port on the USB Flash Drive allows you to easily maneuver it, without damaging the components.
Get the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive 64GB for iPhone and iPad
Final Words
For most Apple fans who choose to stick to the brand no matter what, the closed-circuit design of the iOS is not a nuisance, but a feature. But even the most diehard Apple fans have to endure the pain that comes with the limitation of storage space that iPhone enforces upon its users. It may cost Apple only a few bucks on the manufacturing level to add large storage space to the iOS devices, but the company uses this opportunity to maximize its profits.
If you are among those who can’t let go of Apple but don’t want to end up shelling out hundreds of dollars more just to double the storage space, then getting your hands on the best SD card reader for iPhone and iPad is just what you need. By adding gigabytes of expandable storage to your iPhone and also get the ability to view photos and videos directly on your iDevice. Which of the SD card readers above are you going to grab to make your phone’s media management easier? If you do need more assistance in choosing the right one, simply ask for help in the comments section right down below.
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