So, everyone’s freaking out about the Switch 2. Honestly, it makes sense. We've been stuck with the aging Tegra X1 chip for nearly a decade, and the rumors about what’s coming next are finally getting specific. But there’s one piece of the puzzle that people are completely overlooking, and it's arguably the most important part for anyone who actually plays games: the storage. Specifically, the Switch 2 Express SD card standard that keeps popping up in supply chain leaks from Shenzhen and Kyoto.
If you think you can just pop your old, dusty 128GB card from 2017 into the new console and call it a day, you might be in for a rude awakening.
The Speed Wall: Why UHS-I Just Won't Cut It Anymore
The original Nintendo Switch uses the UHS-I bus interface. It’s slow. We’re talking a theoretical maximum of 104MB/s, though in reality, most of us see much less than that when loading The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It was fine for 2017. It’s a disaster for 2026.
Modern gaming—think PS5 and Xbox Series X—relies on NVMe SSDs that move data at 5,000MB/s or faster. While Nintendo isn't trying to build a 4K powerhouse that eats 150 watts of power, they are trying to implement features like Sampler Feedback Streaming and potentially some form of Nvidia’s RTX IO. You can't do that on a standard microSD card.
The industry buzz suggests the Switch 2 Express SD card will likely utilize the SD Express standard (SD 7.0 or 8.0). This is a massive jump. SD Express essentially puts a PCIe Gen 3 or Gen 4 interface directly onto a tiny removable card.
Understanding the SD Express Tech
SD Express cards are basically "removable SSDs." They use the NVMe protocol, the same stuff in your laptop. This means we could see speeds jumping from 100MB/s to nearly 1,000MB/s or even 2,000MB/s.
Imagine loading Metroid Prime 4 in three seconds instead of thirty. That’s the dream.
But there’s a catch. There's always a catch with Nintendo. These cards run hot. If you’ve ever used a high-end NVMe drive, you know they need heatsinks or at least some decent airflow. Cramming that into a handheld device that's already fighting thermal limits is a genuine engineering nightmare. Samsung and Western Digital have been working on low-power SD Express solutions for a while, but they aren't exactly cheap.
Backward Compatibility: The Big Question
Will your old cards work? Probably. Nintendo usually isn't in the business of alienating their entire user base. The SD Express standard is designed to be backward compatible with UHS-I.
However, there's a rumor—and it’s a plausible one based on how the 3DS handled transition—that "Switch 2 Enhanced" games might require the faster Switch 2 Express SD card speeds to even boot. Think of it like the "Expansion Pak" for the N64, but for the digital age. You can play your old Switch 1 games off your old card, but if you want to play the new Mario in 4K (DLSS-powered) glory, the system might demand that high-speed pipeline.
The Cost of Staying Current
Let's talk money. It's the part no one likes. Currently, a 1TB UHS-I microSD card is pretty affordable. You can find them on sale for $70 to $90. An SD Express card of the same capacity? You’re looking at double or triple that price right now.
🔗 Read more: Why the Black Myth Wukong Stone Monkey Fight is Even Crazier Than You Think
Nintendo has a history of proprietary or "semi-proprietary" formats. Remember the Vita? Sony killed that console by forcing people to buy overpriced, proprietary memory cards. Nintendo is smarter than that, but by moving to a cutting-edge standard like Switch 2 Express SD card, they are effectively raising the "entry fee" for power users.
Why Samsung is the Name to Watch
Earlier this year, Samsung announced they were starting mass production of the world’s first 256GB SD Express microSD card. The timing is suspicious. They specifically mentioned "mobile computing" and "on-device AI." We know the Switch 2 is leaning heavily into AI upscaling via Nvidia’s DLSS.
The Samsung cards claim sequential read speeds of up to 800MB/s. That is four times faster than the fastest "overclocked" UHS-I cards currently on the market. If Nintendo leverages this, we aren't just talking about faster loading; we're talking about more detailed worlds. Developers can stream high-resolution textures in real-time as you move through an environment, eliminating the "pop-in" that plagued games like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Managing Your Expectations
Don't go out and buy an SD Express card today. Seriously. Just don't.
✨ Don't miss: Assassin's Creed Valhalla Gameplay: What Most People Get Wrong
First off, the market is currently flooded with fakes. Second, we don't know the exact spec Nintendo has settled on. If they’ve customized the pin layout for better heat dissipation or security (to fight piracy, which Nintendo is obsessed with), an off-the-shelf card might not even fit or work correctly.
Practical Steps for the Switch 2 Transition
If you are planning on picking up the new console on launch day, here is how you should actually prepare regarding your storage:
- Don't overinvest in UHS-I cards right now. If you need space for your current Switch, buy the cheapest reliable 256GB or 512GB card you can find. Don't go for the "Extreme Pro" versions thinking they'll be future-proof. They won't be.
- Audit your digital library. Start deciding which games you actually play. When the Switch 2 launches, you'll likely want to move your most played, high-performance titles to the internal storage (which is rumored to be 256GB of fast UFS 3.1 memory) and leave the indie games on your old SD card.
- Watch the "Made for Nintendo" branding. As much as we hate the "Nintendo Tax," the officially licensed Switch 2 Express SD card from SanDisk or Samsung will be the only way to guarantee the thermal performance matches the console's internal fan curve.
- Wait for the teardowns. Sites like iFixit or Digital Foundry will have the technical specifics within hours of the console's release. They will tell us if the SD Express slot is restricted or if any high-speed card will work.
The jump to the Switch 2 Express SD card is a necessary evil. We can't have "Next Gen" experiences on "Last Gen" storage. It’s going to be expensive at first, and it’s going to be confusing, but the first time you fast-travel across a massive open world in under two seconds, you’ll realize why the upgrade had to happen. Keep your old cards for your back catalog, but start saving your pennies for the new high-speed standard if you want to see what this new hardware can actually do.