So I’m adding external storage to a Fire Stick and I’m wondering what will last longer, a USB stick or a micro sd card in a USB adapter?
The firestick will likely use the external storage for a few hours everyday so it will need to last as long as my grandmother does.
Second question, how long should I expect these to last assuming I buy quality?
Internally - there is basically zero difference between a usb thumbdrive and a microsd card.
That’s not necessarily true. It all depends on the flash and controller used in the USB drive. There ARE USB drives that are specifically designed for high endurance.
I have a USB stick that’s literally using an SSD controller internally and SSD quality flash. It’s much more expensive than a normal USB drive.
I would also argue that (micro)SD cards have very poor write endurance due to a lack of an internal controller.
I believe (micro)SD cards actually do have a controller. It’s also possible to “Trim” SD cards via MMC commands, though this requires them to be accessible directly (i.e.
/dev/mmcblk
on Linux).If you need USB-based storage that should be performant and reliable, there is a no-brainer solution: NVMe enclosure with a medium to high tier SSD. It’s really hard to match the speed, reliability, and price of this solution.