[lylecheatham]

If they didn't use SD cards, the storage would be more reliable, but users would spend a lot more time fixing bricked boards. By allowing for removeable storage (in a format that can be plugged into any other computer natively) they solved that problem because I can just re image the card and get going again.

The philosophy of the RPi is that they won't really add features to it unless a bulk of the user base would use the feature. For example they were hesitant to even build the WiFi into it because users who wanted that could always get a USB chipset, and building it in adds BOM cost.

Because with GSM you'd also need a plan for it, I don't really predict they'd add that. Especially since you can get it in hat format already.

[ThrowawayR2]

M.2 to USB converters work just fine and a M.2 drive would be far more reliable than μSD cards, even the high-endurance ones.

[lylecheatham]

You're talking about a $40 tool just to flash the storage vs a part (micro SD adapter) that they give you with the SD card for free because it's so cheap.

Also doing a quick survey for the rated cycle counts on M.2 vs SD card slots:

M.2: I found this one [1] which is $0.768 for only 60 cycles

SD: This one [2] is $0.6256 for 5,000 cycles

I'm not sure why you'd say M.2 is more reliable, considering users often cycle storage dozens if not hundreds of times.

[1] https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/jae-electronics/SM...

[2] https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/gct/MEM2051-00-195...