Samsung Pro Plus microSDHC 32GB and EVO Plus 128GB microSDXC Review

Something that many never think about until it is too late with their memory cards, is just what they might endure in the course of their lifetime.  Whether it be going through airport x-ray equipment, inadvertent drops in the toilet, unexpected drops or the inevitable waterproof camera that isn’t completely waterproof, we can only lose our digital memories once.  Once gone recovery is never as easy, or even possible as many think. Samsung’s new release of both the high-speed Pro Plus 32GB SDHC and the high-capacity EVO Plus 128GB SDXC cards take into account, not only the power and capacity needed in today’s devices, but also, the security that we need in our active lifestyles.

Both cards are covered by Samsung’s reliable 5-Proof technology which means that each is waterproof, capable of enduring temperatures of -25 to 85degC, x-ray proof, shock proof and even magnetic proof. In fact, both are even tested to be data-safe after being submerged in seawater for 72 hours.  As if this weren’t enough, both come with industry leading 10 year limited warranties.

Both cards are intended for action cameras, high-end smartphones as well as HD video and it’s almost like they might be built for a GoPro Hero.  While the Pro Plus is capable of 95MB/s read and 90MB/s write data transfer speeds, the EVO Plus is capable of 80MB/s read a 20MB/s write, trading a bit of performance for that capacity.  It goes without saying that Samsung recommends the Pro Plus for 4K UHD video.  Let’s do a bit of a performance side-by side:

ATTO DISK BENCHMARK VER. 2.47

ATTO Disk Benchmark is perhaps one of the oldest benchmarks going and is definitely the main staple for manufacturer performance specifications. ATTO uses RAW or compressible data and, for our benchmarks, we use a set length of 256mb and test both the read and write performance of various transfer sizes ranging from 0.5 to 8192kb. Manufacturers prefer this method of testing as it deals with raw (compressible) data rather than random (includes incompressible data) which, although more realistic, results in lower performance results.

PRO PLUS 32GB

EVO PLUS 128GB

Specifications appear to be dead on, but remember, ATTO tests in the easiest compressible data samples that aren’t really representative of media such as music, video and pictures we might most often see.  Crystal DiskMark would be a better test and is utilized, along with our own true testing, on the next page.

CRYSTAL DISK BENCHMARK VER. 4.0.3 X64

Crystal Disk Benchmark is used to measure read and write performance through sampling of random data which is, for the most part, incompressible. Performance is virtually identical, regardless of data sample so we have included only that using random data samples. The Pro Plus result is on the left, with EVO Plus on the right:

These are excellent results, especially when we consider that this performance and capacity is possible in a microSD card.