The Nintendo Switch 2 will use the latest SD card specification according to a new retail listing. This specification is SD Express. While this tech isn’t exactly new, the format was announced in 2024 as the next-gen version of the storage card.
Gamestop has listed various Micro SD Express card SKUs on their website under the Nintendo Switch 2 category. The listings include a 256GB and 512GB SD Express card retailing for $49.99 and $89.99 respectively. There’s also a Joy-Con Charger Grip accessory for the Switch 2 that was spotted at the same time, but details are scarce on what this is.
SD Express comes with various benefits. It can reach up to 9x the speed of regular SD cards while also offering speed stabilisation that is able to maintain higher speeds without the worry of throttling. Essentially, SD Express is like going from a SATA hard drive to an SSD on your PC. The performance gains are impressive.
Samsung has been a big player in the SD Express team. Back in early 2024, the company announced that it had begun testing Micro SD Express cards in 256GB format. There’s no doubt that this led to the larger 512GB card being sampled too. SD Express can reach up to 128TB in storage, but there are no readily available cards of this size being produced yet.
During Samsung’s announcement, the company also claimed the development of the card was thanks to a successful collaboration with a customer to create a “custom product”. Many suspect this customer was Nintendo.
The Gamestop listings don’t detail whether these Micro SD Express cards are Samsung-branded products. ADATA also produces its own versions of the card, with up to 512GB models being readily available. The Premier Extreme SDXC SD 7.0 Express Card is one of them. Of course, it has to be a MicroSD version to work in the Switch 2. SANDISK sells 128GB and 256GB Micro SD Express cards for $34,99 and $39,99.
SD card technology has really gone nowhere over the last few years because the world hasn’t required it to. Digital cameras have opted for other formats if SD cards were too slow. However, the downside to these other formats is that they are power-hungry, get hot, and cost a lot of money. SSDs are a perfect example of this.
Nintendo using the SD Express format in the Switch 2 makes complete sense. The technology will produce incredible speeds for game loading and data transfers while also keeping battery drain down and costs low. They are also easy to swap out. Not to mention the uptake in these cards as a result of the Switch 2 will push brands to manufacture larger-format cards at competitive prices.
Of course, Nintendo hasn’t confirmed the SD Express format because we are still waiting on the official Switch 2 reveal. However, this listing could confirm the tech.
Source: Reddit
