Explaining MicroSD Express cards and why you should care about them
1 min read
Summary
The new Nintendo Switch console revealed this week, informally known as Switch Pro or Switch 2, will only accept MicroSD Express cards for additional storage, and not the standard MicroSD cards that are compatible with the previous model.
This is because the speed of data transfer that the new console requires is far greater than that of standard MicroSD, with the fastest cards topping out at 104MB/s, whereas Switch 2 will require speeds of around 1GB/s.
The demand for speed is based on the console’s new abilities, including processing games in 4K resolution, which will require much faster data transfer from storage to GPU than the current Switch model.
While current MicroSD cards are adequate for 90% of current users, the new Switch 2 model will require the much higher speeds that MicroSD Express will deliver, along with the higher prices that these cards will carry.
