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

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/SM3ZS067U310AMR1200/670-2690-2-ND/4162221 https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/jae-electronics/SM... [2] https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/gct/MEM2051-00-195-00-A/2073-MEM2051-00-195-00-ATR-ND/10460360 https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/gct/MEM2051-00-195...