The Switch 2 should finally give the microSD Express format the boost that manufacturers of this type of card have been waiting for for years. The console can certainly store 256GB of games (a little less with the operating system), which is 8 times more than in the Switch 1. But with games always bigger — The Switch 2 version of Cyberpunk 2077 will weigh 64GB, a quarter of the console's storage — that amount might look pretty tiny in a year or two.
Increased performance, and so do prices
Fortunately, the Switch 2 still has a microSD slot. But you can't use just any microSD card! Nintendo requires a microSD Express card: "This type of memory card is necessary for faster access speeds and to ensure games run smoothly," the manufacturer explains.
The Switch 1's microSD cards generally offer transfer speeds of up to 104MB/s, otherwise known as UHS-I (Ultra High Speed). There are also UHS-II and UHS-III cards, which are much faster: up to 312MB/s for the former, up to 624MB/s for the latter. But by the SD Association's own admission, UHS-I is sufficient for most tasks, including the most demanding ones like transferring 4K video files.
But for games, it's a little more complicated. UHS-I is indeed a little lacking for certain demanding or very poorly optimized titles. Pokémon players therefore recommend playing Pokémon Purple/Scarlet from the console's storage, not from the microSD card (this game is not very demanding but it was coded with feet). The microSD Express offers speeds of up to 985MB/s thanks to the use of PCIe 3.1 and NVMe 1.3 standards — like SSDs.
There are few consumer devices requiring microSD Express. This explains the very limited choice of microSD Express cards on the market, and therefore the price of existing models. SanDisk is offering a 128GB microSD Express model for €67 on Amazon, compared to €21 for a microSD card of the same size.
Requesting a microSD Express card in the Switch 2 will inevitably be an irritant for players who won't be able to reuse their old SD cards. On the new console, they can only be used to view screenshots and videos saved on them. You'll therefore have to dig deeper into your pockets, which is in addition to the numerous price increases imposed by Nintendo.
The launch of the Switch 2 on June 5th should accelerate the demand for microSD Express cards, and therefore the supply. At least, we can hope so! While the console supports microSD Express cards up to 2TB, cards of this size simply don't exist. However, Lexar just launched a 1TB model, the PLAY PRO microSDXC Express.
The card can read up to 900MB/s and write at 600MB/s. It can be used in microSD devices "just like that," but at speeds limited to UHS-I and UHS-II. The Play Pro will be available in three versions: 1TB ($200), 512GB ($100), and 256GB ($50). Other manufacturers are expected to follow suit and hopefully lower prices.
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