What Is microSD Express?

Why It’s So Much Faster  Compared to Standard microSD Cards?

The plethora of microSD card varieties may lead to oversight regarding the most recent version. However, the most recent iteration, microSD Express, significantly surpasses its predecessors, warranting an instant upgrade.

What is MicroSD Express?

MicroSD Express is an advanced microSD card format that incorporates PCI Express (PCIe) and NVMe ports within the microSD form factor. This integration facilitates significantly elevated data transfer rates compared to conventional microSD cards that depend on outdated interfaces.

Despite its official announcement in 2019, microSD Express has been incorporated with few devices. Nonetheless, the Nintendo Switch 2, unveiled in early April 2025, necessitates microSD Express cards exclusively.

The previous microSD cards utilized with your reliable Nintendo Switch will be incompatible if you update to the Nintendo Switch 2. You will need to expend some funds and commence anew.

Is MicroSD Express Superior in Speed to Standard MicroSD?

The table in the preceding section indicates that microSD Express significantly outperforms the prior generation of standard microSD cards. It provides around 300MB/s superior sequential read speeds compared to the prior fastest standard UHS-III. It is important to note that UHS-III microSD cards are very scarce in the market; predominantly, UHS-I and UHS-II cards, which are slower yet entirely functional, are available.

UHS-III was proposed as the significant advancement for microSD technology, although it failed to gain traction. It has since been surpassed by microSD Express, rendering it improbable that it will ever attain true standardization.

The primary distinction between these two microSD card types is the incorporation of NVMe technology, which is responsible for the high-speed performance of SSDs. MicroSD Express employs NVMe technology to facilitate much accelerated data processing, allowing for concurrent execution of read and write operations. The previous UHS standard employs serial processing, completing one task at a time, which leads to diminished performance. Additionally, microSD Express employs the superior PCI Express Gen 3 standard to enhance data transfer rates.

Indeed, microSD Express has a markedly superior speed compared to conventional microSD cards. The disparity in speed is a primary factor prompting Nintendo to enhance the microSD Express in the Switch 2. While UHS-II is enough for 4K video playback, microSD Express's 985MB/s read/write speeds are significantly superior. As the quality and size of games expand, the capacity and data bandwidth of our storage devices must also increase.

Which devices utilize MicroSD Express? Is MicroSD Express compatible with previous versions?

MicroSD Express cards utilize the identical form factor as traditional microSD cards. The unfortunate reality is that with an older device, your microSD Express card will revert to lesser rates, often those of UHS-I (about 100MB/s).

That is evidently suboptimal. Currently, only a limited number of major devices are compatible with microSD Express; the Nintendo Switch 2 is pioneering this technology. Nonetheless, an increasing number of devices are being released with microSD Express capability, rendering the investment in microSD Express cards worthwhile.

The distinction between a microSD Express card and its predecessors is evident through a singular indicator: microSD Express cards feature the microSD EX logo, as illustrated above.

What is the cost of MicroSD Express cards?

MicroSD Express cards are, as you may have inferred, costlier than standard microSD cards. The difference is not egregious, yet it is undeniably more costly than the exceedingly inexpensive memory cards to which we have grown accustomed.

The 256GB SanDisk microSD Express card is priced at $65, and the 256GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card is available for $25.

While $40 may not be catastrophic when one is already expending nearly five hundred dollars for a Nintendo Switch 2 with all the accessories, it remains an additional expense. For those seeking an extravagant option, investing $200 in the 1TB Lexar Play PRO microSD Express is feasible; however, this may be excessive considering the Switch 2 has yet to be released.

Currently, microSD Express cards are more costly. I anticipate that this will evolve over time as further devices incorporate microSD Express and economic principles prevail. As the Nintendo Switch 2 pioneers advancements, device manufacturers continuously seek innovative methods to enhance hardware, indicating that further devices will soon adopt microSD Express capability.