Last week, Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2, announcing that it exclusively supports expansion through MicroSD Express cards. While this may be inconvenient for those with existing MicroSD collections, the move to MicroSD Express makes perfect sense due to its significantly faster performance.

MicroSD Express cards utilize a PCIe 3.1 interface, allowing them to achieve read/write speeds comparable to the UFS (Universal Flash Storage) used in the Switch 2's internal storage. This advancement enables games stored on an expansion card to load as quickly as those stored internally, enhancing the overall gaming experience. However, this comes with the trade-off of not being able to use the more affordable, non-Express MicroSD cards.

MicroSD vs. MicroSD Express

Over the years, MicroSD cards have seen multiple speed ratings evolve. Initially, they offered speeds of just 12.5MB/s, which pales in comparison to today's standards. Speed ratings progressed from SD High Speed at 25MB/s to SD UHS III at 312MB/s. The introduction of the SD Express standard five years ago marked a significant leap in performance.

The key difference with SD Express is the use of a PCIe 3.1 interface, as opposed to the slower UHS-I interface. This PCIe interface is similar to what faster NVMe SSDs use, enabling much higher performance. Full-sized SD Express cards can achieve transfer speeds up to 3,940MB/s, far surpassing older SD card speeds.

While MicroSD Express cards don't reach the peak speeds of their full-sized counterparts, they still offer impressive performance, with speeds up to 985MB/s—three times faster than the fastest non-Express MicroSD card.

Why Does the Switch 2 Require MicroSD Express?

Nintendo hasn't explicitly detailed their reasons for requiring MicroSD Express cards, but the primary advantage is clearly speed. Games stored on a MicroSD Express card will load much faster than on traditional UHS-I MicroSD cards, thanks to the PCIe 3.1 interface. This requirement may also foreshadow similar standards for future handheld gaming PCs.

The Nintendo Switch 2's internal storage has been upgraded to UFS from eMMC, further justifying the need for equally fast expansion storage. Early demos suggest significant load time improvements, ranging from 35% faster fast-travel in games like Breath of the Wild, according to Polygon, to a threefold improvement in initial load times, as measured by Digital Foundry. These enhancements could be attributed to the faster internal storage, but also to the improved CPU and GPU, which can process data more efficiently. The necessity for fast external storage ensures that future games, which may demand quicker disk performance, are not hindered by slower SD cards.

Additionally, the requirement for MicroSD Express cards sets the stage for even faster storage solutions in the future. The current fastest SD card standard, SD 8.0 Specification, allows full-size SD Express cards to reach speeds of 3,942MB/s. While MicroSD Express cards can't yet match these speeds, future advancements could see them getting closer, provided the Switch 2's hardware supports these speeds.

MicroSD Express Capacity Options

Currently, MicroSD Express cards are not widely available, but this is expected to change with the Nintendo Switch 2's launch. Lexar offers a single MicroSD Express card in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB variants, with the 1TB card priced at $199.

Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express

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SanDisk, on the other hand, offers one MicroSD Express card, capped at 256GB, which matches the internal storage of the Switch 2. As the Nintendo Switch 2 hits the market, expect to see more MicroSD Express cards with capacities up to 512GB. Over time, as companies like Samsung enter the market, the availability of higher-capacity MicroSD Express cards should increase.

SanDisk MicroSD Express 256GB

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