MicroSD Express: Essential Upgrade for Nintendo Switch 2

When Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 last week, it announced that the console exclusively supports expansion via MicroSD Express cards. While this might be inconvenient for those with existing MicroSD collections, it's a strategic move due to the significant speed advantages of MicroSD Express. These cards, interfacing directly with the device, can achieve read/write speeds comparable to the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) used in the Switch 2's internal storage. This is crucial for seamless game loading times, ensuring that games on expansion cards perform just as well as those stored internally, albeit at the cost of compatibility with less expensive non-Express MicroSD cards.

MicroSD vs. MicroSD Express

Over the years, MicroSD cards have evolved through six different speed ratings. Initially, SD cards offered a mere 12.5MB/s, a speed that pales in comparison to today's standards. The evolution continued from SD High Speed at 25 MB/s to the latest SD UHS III, or Ultra High Speed, at 312MB/s. However, the introduction of the SD Express standard five years ago marked a significant leap in performance.

The key advancement with SD Express is its use of a PCIe 3.1 interface, a stark contrast to the slower UHS-I interface of previous generations. PCIe, the same technology that powers high-speed NVMe SSDs, enables much higher data transfer rates. Full-sized SD Express cards can now reach speeds up to 3,940MB/s, far surpassing the capabilities of older SD cards.

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

Why Does the Switch 2 Require MicroSD Express?

Although Nintendo rarely shares detailed reasoning behind its hardware choices, the requirement for MicroSD Express cards on the Switch 2 makes sense, primarily due to speed. A game installed on a MicroSD Express card will load significantly faster than on a traditional UHS-I MicroSD card, thanks to the PCIe 3.1 interface. This could set a trend for future handheld gaming PCs.

The internal storage of the Nintendo Switch 2 has been upgraded from eMMC to UFS, aligning with the need for expansion storage to match these speeds. Early demos suggest substantial load time improvements—from a 35% increase in fast travel times, according to Polygon, to a 3x initial load improvement, as measured by Digital Foundry. These enhancements may be attributed to faster internal storage or the improved CPU and GPU, which can process data more efficiently. The key takeaway is that Nintendo's requirement for MicroSD Express ensures that external storage doesn't bottleneck the performance of future games.

This move also paves the way for even faster storage options in the future. The current SD 8.0 Specification allows full-size SD Express cards to reach speeds up to 3,942MB/s. While MicroSD Express cards can't yet achieve these speeds, future advancements could enable them to do so, provided the Switch 2 supports such speeds.

MicroSD Express Capacity Options

Adoption of MicroSD Express cards has been gradual, but the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 is likely to accelerate this. Currently, options are limited. Lexar offers a single MicroSD Express card in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities, with the 1TB version priced at $199.

Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express

SanDisk, on the other hand, has one MicroSD Express card available, topping out at 256GB, which matches the internal storage of the Switch 2. As the Switch 2 hits the market, we can expect more MicroSD Express cards with capacities beyond 512GB to become available, especially as companies like Samsung ramp up production.

SanDisk MicroSD Express 256GB