As a standardized product introduced by the Intelligent Terminal Storage Association (ITMA), the NM card has become the ideal storage expansion medium for brands like Huawei and Honor smartphones. Its greatest feature lies in its compact size, matching the dimensions of a Nano SIM card. Therefore, it can be inserted into the Nano SIM card slot of compatible phones, becoming a powerful assistant for shooting and creativity for users who do not require dual SIM functionality.
Previously, the maximum capacity of NM cards was only 256GB, which was relatively limited for phone expansion. A larger capacity will enhance the practicality of such storage products and stimulate users' functional needs.
Recently, we got our hands on Lexar's latest NM storage card, the 512GB version. It can hold up to 88,000 20-megapixel photos or 530 minutes of 4K resolution video, offering excellent value for expanding storage capacity, especially for smartphones with high-quality imaging capabilities.
The packaging design of Lexar's NM storage card follows the common minimalist style seen in storage cards, including the classic shelf hanging hole at the top. It neatly displays the product logo, capacity, key performance features, and other information on the front of the packaging, embedded within transparent plastic packaging containing the storage card itself, providing a clear overview of the product.
The surface of the NM card continues to feature Lexar's professional storage product's black and white color scheme, with clear product information such as capacity and speed printed on it.
During the same period, we also received Lexar's newly launched NM storage card 2-in-1 USB 3.1 card reader. This 2-in-1 card reader features dual slots for both NM cards and MicroSD cards, along with a dual-port design supporting USB-A and USB-C. Apart from being a perfect companion for NM cards, it also accommodates the reading and writing needs of most users' MicroSD cards and device interfaces.
Moving on to performance testing, we begin with theoretical tests using storage benchmarking software on the PC side. Tests were conducted using CrystalDiskMark, AS SSD Benchmark, and ATTO Disk Benchmark. Below are the results:
In CrystalDiskMark testing, the Lexar NM memory card demonstrates a sequential read speed of up to 94.35MB/s and a sequential write speed of 87.31MB/s, exceeding the specified performance levels of 90MB/s for reading and 85MB/s for writing.
In AS SSD Benchmark, the NM storage card achieved impressive sequential read and write speeds of 89.87MB/s and 83.00MB/s, respectively, demonstrating solid performance.
In the ATTO Disk Benchmark, the Lexar NM memory card boasts an extensive range of top-notch performance, peaking at up to 90.14MB/s read and 83.39MB/s write speeds.
When the NM card standard was first established, the goal was to achieve a writing performance level not lower than SD V3. However, based on our actual experience, it undoubtedly surpasses this basic standard, capable of reaching performance levels exceeding V60. This makes it more than capable of meeting the demands of high-quality video recording on smartphones.
So, how does it actually perform on mobile phones? Let's take our Mate X5 Collector's Edition for a spin.
First up is the imaging function. We can choose to store captured photos and videos directly onto the SD card in the phone's camera settings, and then proceed with high-quality photo and video shooting tests. However, in the phone settings, high-speed continuous shooting can only save photos to the internal storage, so we opted to shoot high-quality uncompressed 4K60FPS video for the experience.
The video info displayed on the software indicates that the 4K60FPS video shot by Mate X5 Collector's Edition has an average bitrate of around 30000kbps. With a duration of just 2 minutes and 9 seconds, the video size has already reached 475MB, putting the write performance of the storage card to the test. The Lexar NM storage card can be said to perfectly meet this requirement.
We can also utilize the backup and restore feature in the phone settings, using the external storage card as a backup space for important files and application data, thus enhancing data security. For common business users of Huawei and Honor brands, this should be a highly practical and valuable feature.
Lastly, there's the content caching feature commonly found in video and music apps. The Lexar NM storage card naturally handles such tasks effortlessly, requiring only setting the default cache directory to the storage card in the software.
To sum up, most current mobile products have bid farewell to external storage slots, losing a convenient expansion option. However, the uniqueness of NM cards lies in their use of Nano SIM slots, which are still widely available, offering another choice for this user group.
With smaller size, higher storage density, and appropriate performance, the newly launched 512GB capacity version of Lexar NM card further enhances the practical value of this storage expansion form, making it worth experiencing for Huawei and Honor smartphone users.
