PNY Unveils microSD Express Cards for Switch 2

Technology company PNY has announced new microSD Express memory cards, joining the newly formed fray ahead of the Nintendo Switch 2’s global launch on June 5.

As PetaPixel reported in early April, SD Express — a generally ignored memory card format — is finally getting a bit of time in the limelight thanks to the Switch 2. Interestingly, while the Switch 2 provides an opportunity for SD to showcase a faster microSD format, it also undercuts one of the primary benefits of the format: backward compatibility. As Nintendo has explained, the Switch 2 will only work with microSD Express cards, meaning the microSD cards used by the original Nintendo Switch are useless for its successor.

That said, microSD Express cards — like the SD Express cards nobody uses — are significantly faster than standard microSD and SD cards. Speaking of the standard SD card format, it turned 25 years old this week. PNY says its new microSD Express card is up to 4.4 times faster than standard UHS-I microSD cards, ensuring the new cards are well-suited to “ultra-high performance gaming demands.”

PNY’s new microSD Express Flash Memory Cards deliver read speeds up to 890 MB/s and write speeds up to 750 MB/s, which are much faster than standard microSD cards — and SD cards, for that matter. Even ProGrade Digital’s UHS-II microSD cards, which are impressive performers overall, top out at a read speed of 250 MB/s and write speed of 130 MB/s.

PNY adds that its new microSD Express cards are designed to stay cool during continued use, which is especially important for gaming and are backward compatible with devices that utilize standard microSD cards. So yes, Switch 2 may only accept microSD Express memory cards, but microSD Express cards will work on other devices — they won’t be able to take advantage of the promised extra performance.

Speaking of other devices, Ricoh announced the GR IV this week, saying that the highly anticipated compact camera will arrive this fall. While the GR IV has internal storage, it also has a microSD card slot to store additional photos. Lo and behold, it’s a UHS-I microSD card slot, not even UHS-II, let alone microSD Express.

Pricing and Availability

The PNY microSD Express cards come in 128GB and 256GB capacities, costing $44.99 and $55.99, respectively. They are available now directly from PNY and will arrive at additional retailers soon.

Image credits: PNY