The Switch 2 Is Almost Here and You Need a Specific Type of MicroSD Card – Here’s Where to Find Them
Nintendo has officially announced the Switch 2, and the company’s has shown us a lot of new details. We’ve rounded up everything you need to know, but the new gaming console’s external storage needs are particularly noteworthy. Unlike previous Switch consoles, the Switch 2 will require a microSD Express card, not just a regular microSD.
Because of this upgrade, it’s unlikely your old microSD will work if you just swap it in. To take advantage, you’ll need to buy a new one. Don’t worry about looking around for them, though. We’re on it.
The Switch 2 comes with 256GB of internal memory, so it may not seem worthwhile to add only 128GB of external storage, but some is better than none. microSD Express is significantly more expensive than a standard microSD, and the best option is always the option you can afford.
This is likely going to be the most popular choice for storage on the Switch 2. It doubles the usable storage of your console, and at $60 it isn’t an outrageous price either. If you’re a hardcore gamer and you think you’ll have dozens of games loaded onto your Switch 2, then you may want to go bigger, but I think for the average person, a combined storage of 512GB should be plenty.
Technically the Switch 2 can use microSD cards of up to 2TB, but those are few and far between. We did manage to find this 1TB card that fits the microSD Express criteria, but it isn’t a cheap buy — $200 for 1TB of extra space is a lot, especially for a handheld that already costs $450.
We’ll constantly be looking for more microSD Express listings as we approach the Switch 2’s June 5 launch. Right now the cards are few and far between because they’re fairly new technology. But as they become more popular, we’re likely to see more places stocking them, and potentially a drop in price too.
Watch this: Switch 2 Detailed: What You Need to Know
You don’t need one to play the Switch 2. The console already comes with 256GB of internal storage, so if you can keep your gaming needs under that threshold, you won’t have to buy a microSD Express card. That said, some third-party games we see could be much larger than the standard Nintendo games. Elden Ring alone is 45GB, almost a fifth of your internal storage.
MicroSD Express cards are significantly faster than standard microSD cards. For instance, the SanDisk Extreme 256GB card has a read speed of 190Mb/s but the 256GB Express has a read speed of up to 880Mb/s. That’s a massive difference when you’re a console trying to move game data around.
The answer is likely no, unless you already have a microSD card Express card. Standard microSD cards won’t be compatible with the Switch 2, largely due to transfer speeds.
The maximum capacity of the Switch 2 microSD Express is 2TB. There aren’t many of them around, and they’re very expensive, but the Switch 2 can read them successfully.
These Express cards are fairly new technology and because of that, they’re considerably more expensive than the standard versions. An older 256GB microSD is around $25 on Amazon, whereas the SanDisk 256GB Express is $60. They are much faster, though. Over twice the price for almost four times the speed seems a fair trade.