Last week, Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2, revealing that the new console exclusively supports expansion via MicroSD Express cards. While this might be inconvenient for those with existing MicroSD card collections, the decision is driven by significant performance benefits. MicroSD Express cards offer vastly superior speeds, closely matching the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) used in the Switch 2's internal storage. This compatibility ensures that games stored on these expansion cards can load as quickly as those installed internally, though it means users can no longer utilize the more affordable non-Express MicroSD cards.

MicroSD vs. MicroSD Express

Over the years, MicroSD cards have seen six different speed ratings evolve. Starting with a modest 12.5MB/s with the original SD cards, speeds have incrementally improved, reaching 312MB/s with the SD UHS III (Ultra High Speed) standard. However, a significant leap occurred with the introduction of the SD Express standard five years ago, which utilized a PCIe 3.1 interface instead of the slower UHS-I interface found in traditional MicroSD cards. This shift to PCIe, commonly used in high-speed NVMe SSDs, allows full-sized SD Express cards to achieve data transfer rates up to 3,940MB/s. While MicroSD Express cards don't reach these peak speeds, they still manage impressive speeds of up to 985MB/s, which is three times faster than the best non-Express MicroSD cards.

Why Does the Switch 2 Require MicroSD Express?

Although Nintendo hasn't explicitly detailed their reasoning, the requirement for MicroSD Express cards on the Switch 2 is likely driven by the need for speed. With the internal storage upgraded to UFS from eMMC, it's logical for Nintendo to demand that expansion storage matches these speeds. Early demonstrations have shown that the Switch 2 significantly reduces load times; for instance, fast traveling in games like Breath of the Wild is now 35% faster, according to Polygon, while Digital Foundry reported a 3x improvement in initial load times. These enhancements could be attributed to both the faster internal storage and the more powerful CPU and GPU. To ensure that future games aren't hindered by slower external storage, MicroSD Express cards were a necessary choice.

Moreover, this decision future-proofs the console. The current fastest standard for SD cards, SD 8.0 Specification, allows full-size SD Express cards to reach speeds up to 3,942MB/s. While MicroSD Express cards haven't yet reached these speeds, they have the potential to do so in the future, especially if the Switch 2 is capable of supporting such speeds.

MicroSD Express Capacity Options

Although MicroSD Express cards have been slow to gain traction, their adoption is expected to increase with the Nintendo Switch 2's launch. Currently, options are limited. Lexar offers a single MicroSD Express card available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities, with the 1TB variant priced at $199.

On the other hand, SanDisk's offering is a single 256GB MicroSD Express card, which aligns with the internal storage capacity of the Switch 2. At launch, it's unlikely to see many MicroSD Express cards exceeding 512GB, but as demand grows, companies like Samsung are expected to introduce higher capacity options.