MicroSD Express: A Must for Nintendo Switch 2

When Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 last week, it made a significant announcement: the console will exclusively support expansion through MicroSD Express cards. This decision might be a headache for those with collections of existing MicroSD cards, but it's a strategic move due to the superior speed of MicroSD Express.

These 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 compatibility is crucial as it enables games on the expansion card to load just as quickly as those stored internally, at least theoretically. The trade-off is the inability to use 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, which is slow by today's standards. The progression included SD High Speed at 25 MB/s, up to SD UHS III, or Ultra High Speed, at 312MB/s. However, five years ago, the SD Association introduced the SD Express standard, significantly boosting speeds.

The pivotal change with SD Express is the adoption of a PCIe 3.1 interface, as opposed to the slower UHS-I interface. PCIe is the same technology that powers faster NVMe SSDs, enabling much higher performance potential. Full-sized SD Express cards can now reach data transfer speeds up to 3,940MB/s, a dramatic increase over older SD cards.

While MicroSD Express cards do not reach the peak speeds of their full-sized counterparts, they are still remarkably fast, achieving speeds up to 985MB/s—three times faster than the fastest non-Express MicroSD card.

Why Does the Switch 2 Require MicroSD Express?

Although Nintendo typically keeps its hardware rationale close to the chest, the requirement for MicroSD Express cards in the Switch 2 is likely driven by the need for speed. A game installed on a traditional UHS-I MicroSD card will load much slower than on a MicroSD Express card, thanks to the PCIe 3.1 interface. This could foreshadow a similar requirement in future handheld gaming PCs.

The internal storage of the Nintendo Switch 2 has been upgraded to UFS from eMMC, making it logical for Nintendo to mandate expansion storage that matches these speeds. Early demos suggest significant load time improvements, with fast travel in games like Breath of the Wild reduced by 35% according to Polygon, and a 3x initial load improvement 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 unpack data more efficiently. The key point is that Nintendo aims to ensure that external storage does not bottleneck future games that demand faster disk access.

Moreover, this move paves the way for even faster storage solutions in the future. Currently, the fastest standard for SD cards is the SD 8.0 Specification, allowing full-size SD Express cards to reach speeds up to 3,942MB/s. While MicroSD Express cards aren't there yet, future advancements could see them matching these speeds, provided the Switch 2's hardware supports it.

MicroSD Express Capacity Options

MicroSD Express cards are still gaining traction, and their availability is expected to increase with the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. Currently, options are limited. Lexar offers a single MicroSD Express card in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB variants, with the 1TB model priced at $199.

Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express

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SanDisk, on the other hand, lists only one MicroSD Express card, maxing out at 256GB, which matches the internal storage capacity of the Switch 2. By the time the Nintendo Switch 2 hits the market, we might not see many MicroSD Express cards exceeding 512GB. However, this is likely to change as more manufacturers, including Samsung, start producing these cards.

SanDisk MicroSD Express 256GB

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