Since the rumor spread that one of the Switch 2 components is an SD Express card reader, fans have been hyped about using more powerful cards. But most people have never used, bought, or even seen an SD Express card. What can we really look forward to with these cards and will they really be able to match up with what SSDs can do?
Futurist and YouTuber Christopher Barnatt made a new video explaining SD Cards, and he provides some clarification on the storage format. But what he’s explained about SD Express in particular is, of course, what’s relevant here.
As it turns out, SD Express has existed since 2018, and it has offered better performance, including faster read/write speeds, for all this time. The reason we don’t know much about them is they haven’t been widely adopted.
Most consumers have been doing just fine with the older SD card specifications, but even working professionals are satisfied with older and lower performance cards like SDXC cards.
But Nintendo would be smart to prepare their Switch 2 for SD Express compatibility instead of other SD card standards. These cards are rated far above the 2 to 60 MB / sec write speeds most consumers cards have, with a minimum of 150 MB / sec and going as high as 600 MB / sec. SD Express cards can be faster than older and cheaper SSDs, as some can run at a minimum of 200 MB / sec. That’s the same SSDs some 9th generation games require on PC.
As Barnatt points out in his video, most consumers have simply not found a reason to switch to SD Express, and that has also meant that capacities have remained small and these cards are relatively more expensive than they have to be. And that’s the reason some fans were excited when rumors started going around that Samsung and Nintendo were working together on SD Express.
We had originally reported that SSDs can hit the high end of over 3,000 MB / sec. As it turns out, however, even on a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, games don’t really use SSDs at speeds higher than 700 MB / sec, and usually stick to 600 MB / sec. So if that rumor from WCCFTech about Samsung and Nintendo is true, these newer SD Express cards rated at 800 MB / sec will already match, and can even exceed, what the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X SSDs are capable of.
Nintendo is taking some risks with this as well. SD Express cards have competitors that can become more popular in time, such as UHS-III standard SD cards. On the flip side, M.2 2230 SSDs may not be safe for children to handle, but they’re in wide use for computers, including Steam Deck and other PC gaming handhelds.
If SD Express cards don’t catch on, they will end up being an additional burden for gamers who really want to use the Switch 2 will have to deal with, like Xbox Series expansions cards and the PlayStation Vita memory card. But if things work out, the Switch will join laptops like the ProArt Studiobook 16 in leading consumers towards using SD Express, and possibly pushing everyone towards it as the new storage standard.
It’s strange to think that Nintendo may have taken a bet in a format war, but this seems to be one that’s worth taking a stand on. SD Express cards may not necessarily make SSDs obsolete, but it could push SSDs, and every other older storage type, to push their prices even cheaper.
In the meantime, we do recommend you watch Barnatt’s video. It’s not focused on SD Express cards per se, but it’s still useful information to finally understand what the deal is with all those weird little logos on your MicroSD cards on your phone. You can watch the video below.
