Last week, Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2, revealing that it 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 superior speed of MicroSD Express technology. These cards utilize an interface that enables read/write speeds comparable to the UFS (Universal Flash Storage) used in the Switch 2's internal storage. This advancement is crucial as it theoretically allows games on expansion cards to load as swiftly as those stored internally, albeit at the expense of compatibility with less expensive non-Express MicroSD cards.
MicroSD vs. MicroSD Express
The evolution of MicroSD card speeds has been significant. Starting with the original SD cards at a mere 12.5MB/s, the industry has seen a progression to SD High Speed at 25MB/s, culminating with SD UHS III at 312MB/s. The game-changer came five years ago with the introduction of the SD Express standard, which leverages a PCIe 3.1 interface instead of the slower UHS-I. This shift to PCIe technology, commonly used in high-performance NVMe SSDs, allows full-sized SD Express cards to achieve transfer speeds up to 3,940MB/s. MicroSD Express cards, while not as fast as their full-sized counterparts, can still reach impressive speeds of up to 985MB/s, tripling the performance of the fastest non-Express MicroSD cards.
Why Does the Switch 2 Require MicroSD Express?
Although Nintendo often keeps its hardware decisions under wraps, the requirement for MicroSD Express cards on the Switch 2 makes perfect sense, primarily due to speed considerations. Games loaded from a MicroSD Express card will launch much faster than those from a traditional UHS-I MicroSD card, thanks to the PCIe 3.1 interface. This requirement could also signal a trend for future handheld gaming PCs.
The internal storage of the Switch 2 has been upgraded to UFS from eMMC, aligning the need for expansion storage to match these speeds. Early demonstrations indicate significantly faster load times for games like "Breath of the Wild," with improvements ranging from 35% for fast travel (as reported by Polygon) to a threefold increase in initial load times (according to Digital Foundry). These enhancements may result from both the faster storage and the improved CPU and GPU, which can process data more efficiently. By requiring MicroSD Express, Nintendo ensures that external storage won't bottleneck future games that demand high-speed disk access.
Moreover, this move future-proofs the console, with the current fastest standard, SD 8.0 Specification, allowing full-size SD Express cards to reach up to 3,942MB/s. While MicroSD Express cards aren't yet at this level, there's potential for them to reach such speeds in the future, contingent on the Switch 2's ability to support them.
AnswerSee ResultsMicroSD Express Capacity Options
The adoption of MicroSD Express cards has been slow, but this is expected to change with the Switch 2's launch. Currently, options are limited. Lexar offers a single MicroSD Express card in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB variants, with the 1TB option priced at $199.
### Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express
0See it at Amazon
SanDisk, meanwhile, provides one MicroSD Express card with a maximum capacity of 256GB, which matches the internal storage of the Switch 2. As the Switch 2 hits the market, we might see limited options for MicroSD Express cards above 512GB. However, this landscape is likely to evolve rapidly as companies like Samsung increase production of these high-speed memory cards.
### SanDisk MicroSD Express 256GB
0See it at Amazon
