Memory Stick

Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format developed by Sony. Introduced in 1998, it was designed to store photos, videos, music, and other data on portable electronic devices. Sony used Memory Stick cards in their Cyber-shot cameras, Handycam camcorders, VAIO computers, and PlayStation Portable (PSP) systems.

Unlike more widely adopted formats, such as SD card, Memory Stick was proprietary to Sony. Some products from other manufacturers included compatible slots, but support outside the Sony ecosystem was limited. Certain card readers and Sony devices accepted multiple Memory Stick sizes, sometimes with the help of an adapter.

Below are several versions of Memory Stick media that Sony produced:

• Memory Stick - The original full-size format, measuring 50 × 21.5 × 2.8 mm; early cards had capacities ranging from 4 to 128 MB.
• Memory Stick Select - A card containing two 128 MB memory banks, selected using a physical switch
• Memory Stick PRO - Introduced in 2003 with higher capacity (up to 32 GB) and faster transfer speeds than the original format (up to 160 Mbps).
• Memory Stick Duo - A smaller version measuring 31 × 20 × 1.6 mm; designed for compact cameras and other portable devices.
• Memory Stick PRO Duo - Combined the smaller Duo dimensions with the increased capacity and performance of Memory Stick PRO; primary storage format for the PSP
• Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo - A higher-speed version of PRO Duo (480 Mbps max transfer rate) designed for high-resolution photography and video recording
• Memory Stick Micro (M2) - A miniature 15 × 12.5 × 1.2 mm version developed for mobile phones and other small devices; backward-compatible with Duo slots via an adapter
• Memory Stick XC - A later generation that used the exFAT file system and supported theoretical capacities of up to 2 TB; variants included Memory Stick XC Duo and XC-HG Duo

Replaced by the SD Card Format

Memory Stick use declined during the 2010s as SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards offered broader compatibility, greater availability, and lower prices. Sony began adding SD card support to its cameras and other devices and gradually stopped developing new Memory Stick products.

Today, Memory Stick is considered a legacy format. Existing cards still work with older Sony cameras, camcorders, PSP systems, and other compatible hardware, but modern Sony devices primarily use SD cards. High-end Sony cameras also support CF and CFexpress cards as well.