The association that sets the standards for the most popular kind of flash memory is upping its standards for mobile devices.

Last week, the SD Association (SDA) announced a new class of microSD card that is designed to allow for use on devices that support the cards (which are largely Android-based). Last year, a feature was added to Android that allows users to tie their phones’ internal storage with that of a microSD card—and it’s been around long enough that most recent devices that have microSD slots support the feature.

But before now, it wasn’t always obvious whether a memory card met a minimum speed standard for such usage—meaning that consumers were sometimes stuck buying multiple cards trying to confirm whether it was fast enough to be used in this way.

The App Performance Class 1 (or A1) standard, which was requested by mobile manufacturers, is designed to clarify this point for the broader market—as well as to set minimum standards for input and output speed for microSD cards designed for this purpose. While the cards can be used to simply store files as the SD standard was originally designed, they can also be used in the more advanced way as well.

“With its consumer-friendly symbol, App Performance Class eliminates buyers’ frustration with identifying app-running compatibility on their Android devices and microSD memory cards,” SDA President Brian Kumagai noted in a news release. “Matching the App Performance Class symbol with your mobile device requirements simplifies the process and continues the SD tradition of matching your memory card to your device.”

SDA says it will introduce upgraded versions of the App Performance Class standard as the market requires. More details on the updated standard are available on the SD Association website.

(YouTube screenshot)