Most microSD playing cards are quick sufficient for stashing pictures, recording video and transferring recordsdata, however some will get you slightly extra bang to your buck than others. If you happen to’re trying to enhance the storage of your Nintendo Change 2, Steam Deck, GoPro or another gadget that also accepts microSD playing cards, we can assist. We’ve completely researched the market and several other playing cards by means of a set of benchmark checks: Listed here are the very best that we’ve examined, together with some common recommendation on what to search for when shopping for a brand new card.
Desk of contents
Finest microSD playing cards of 2025
Lexar
Storage capability: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Velocity courses: U3, V30, A2, Class 10 | Guarantee: Lifetime restricted
UHS-I card is fast sufficient for most individuals’s wants, and the Lexar Skilled Silver Plus is the very best worth of those we’ve examined. Paired with Lexar’s USB card reader, it constantly delivered sooner sequential reads and writes than another UHS-I mannequin throughout our benchmark checks. It’s rated for learn speeds as much as 205 MB/s and write speeds as much as 150 MB/s, each of that are comparatively excessive to start with, however we discovered the latter to achieve into the 180-190 MB/s vary in artificial benchmarks like CrystalDiskMark, ATTO and AJA.
Our 12GB check folder wrote to the cardboard in 76 seconds on common, which was roughly 30 seconds faster than the Samsung Professional Plus and Samsung Professional Final, our two earlier prime picks. It successfully tied the Professional Final to steer all UHS-I playing cards we’ve tried in studying that check file again to our PC. (That one averaged about 67 seconds, when you’re retaining rating at residence.) Each Samsung playing cards and some others beat the Silver Plus in some random efficiency benchmarks, although it was nonetheless lots aggressive in that regard. Both manner, it has all of the requisite scores — U3, V30, A2 — and it’s greater than speedy sufficient for working with 4K movies or shifting recordsdata between gadgets with out main delays (as long as you could have a reader and/or host gadget that may allow these max speeds).
The cardboard itself is waterproof with an IPX7 ranking, and Lexar backs it with a lifetime guarantee. Sizes vary from 128GB to a spacious 1TB. The non-compulsory reader — which you should purchase individually or as a part of a bundle — is a bit massive, however it conveniently contains each USB-A and USB-C ports, so that you shouldn’t want any dongles to attach it to a cellphone or PC.
What places the Silver Plus excessive is its worth. On the time of writing, a 128GB mannequin is obtainable for $15, whereas the 256GB, 512GB and 1TB variants have been going for about $23, $40 and $80, respectively. These aren’t the most cost effective costs we’ve ever seen, and the mathematics will change a bit if you could think about a card reader, however they both undercut or match rivals just like the Professional Plus, Professional Final or SanDisk Excessive regardless of the Silver Plus being the extra performant card general. So, to recap: It’s quick, it’s sturdy and it’s moderately inexpensive. That’s the recipe for a straightforward suggestion.
- Quickest sequential learn/write efficiency of any UHS-I card we have examined
- Cheaper than many slower options
- Has a 1TB choice
- Lifetime restricted guarantee
- Wants USB reader to achieve most speeds (as anticipated)
Picture by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
Storage capability: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Velocity courses: U3, V30, A2, Class 10 | Guarantee: 10-year restricted
Storage costs are likely to fluctuate, nonetheless, and the Samsung Professional Plus — our former “finest for many” choose — remains to be price contemplating when you see it out there for a number of {dollars} lower than the Silver Plus within the capability you need. Its sequential learn and (particularly) write efficiency was slower than Lexar’s card throughout the board however nonetheless on par with or higher than practically each different UHS-I card we’ve examined. Its random reads and writes have been typically second to the pricier Samsung Professional Final, however solely by slightly, so it’s well-suited for a conveyable sport console or another setup the place it’d be requested to entry tiny bits of knowledge scattered all through a tool. It’s held up completely nice in our long-term testing as nicely. That mentioned, the Silver Plus is the higher card when it’s in the identical worth vary, plus Samsung’s has a shorter 10-year guarantee.
If you happen to do find yourself grabbing one, although, be sure you get the latest mannequin with learn speeds rated at 180MB/s. An older-generation mannequin with slower sequential reads and random efficiency should be hanging round at some on-line retailers, so keep away from that one. Samsung additionally sells Sonic the Hedgehog-themed variations of the Professional Plus with similar efficiency scores, however these normally value a couple of bucks additional.
- Fast sequential and random speeds
- Available at trusted retailers
- Has a 1TB choice
- Slower than our prime choose, particularly with sequential write efficiency
- 10-year guarantee is not the longest
Picture by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
Storage capability: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB (“new technology” mannequin solely) | Velocity courses: U3, V30, A2, Class 10 / (64GB) U1, V10, A1, Class 10 | Guarantee: 10-year restricted
The Samsung Evo Choose is a transparent step behind our prime picks, significantly with regards to sequential write speeds (slightly below 70 MB/s on CrystalDiskMark). So we don’t suggest it for any form of digital camera. Nonetheless, it’s completely usable for easy storage growth, and its sequential and random learn speeds have been nonetheless respectable in our benchmarks.
Most significantly, it’s normally cheap: We have beforehand seen the 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB fashions fall as little as $13, $18, $33 and $67, respectively. The latter two capacities may very well be significantly nice values when you simply need a large chunk of area from a good model on a budget. That mentioned, you must nonetheless seize the Lexar Skilled Silver Plus or Samsung Professional Plus as an alternative if both one is anyplace shut in worth.
- Typically discounted
- Acceptable efficiency if worth is chief concern
- Has a 1TB choice
- Slower than different prime picks, significantly in sequential write and random efficiency benchmarks
- 10-year guarantee is not the longest
Finest microSD Specific playing cards for the Nintendo Change 2
Learn our full information to the finest microSD Specific playing cards for the Nintendo Change 2
Let’s be clear about this: Until you intend to personal a Nintendo Change 2 within the close to future, you do not want a high-speed microSD Specific card simply but. Nintendo’s gaming handheld is the one common gadget that natively helps this commonplace proper now, and microSD Specific playing cards themselves are extremely costly in comparison with extra conventional choices.
Nonetheless, when you do need to enhance a Change 2’s storage, they’re your solely alternative. Luckily, figuring out precisely which mannequin to purchase for the console is fairly easy: Get whichever one you’ll find in inventory, within the capability you need, at a worth you’ll be able to abdomen.
We benchmarked a number of microSD Specific playing cards for a separate Change 2 information, and for essentially the most half, the efficiency variations between them weren’t nice sufficient to justify paying a lot additional for any explicit mannequin. Loading occasions weren’t fairly similar with each check we ran, however the playing cards have been extraordinarily shut in most video games. When there was a niche — fast-traveling to a very resource-heavy area in Cyberpunk 2077, as an example — the gulf between the slowest and quickest card was solely ever about 3 seconds at most. That’s not nothing, however it’s not one thing you’re prone to fret over except you could have a stopwatch helpful.
The SanDisk microSD Specific Card and Lexar Play Professional.
(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)
The one time you’d discover a serious velocity distinction is when you switch video games to your Specific card from the Change 2’s inner storage (and vice versa). In that case, the SanDisk microSD Specific Card and Lexar Play Professional have been typically the quickest, whereas PNY’s microSD Specific Flash Reminiscence Card had significantly sluggish write speeds.
Transferring Mario Kart World to the SanDisk and Lexar fashions, for instance, took round 4 minutes and 35 seconds on common; with the PNY card, it took slightly over seven minutes. That mentioned, the PNY mannequin was the quickest when it got here to shifting video games again to the system storage. Both manner, most individuals aren’t continually shuffling their video games backwards and forwards like this. Efficiency in precise video games is extra essential, and in that regard the outcomes have been constantly a lot tighter.
What issues most is getting essentially the most area to your funds. Sadly, inventory for all microSD Specific playing cards has been spotty for the reason that Change 2’s launch. To your comfort, we’ll checklist out all the fashions we’ve seen at retailers to this point and their respective checklist costs beneath. The one one we haven’t examined is the Walmart Onn mannequin, which occurs to be essentially the most inexpensive (however has additionally been out of inventory for a lot of the previous a number of months). Be aware that some lower-capacity variations — the 128GB SanDisk card, for one — promote slower speeds than their extra spacious counterparts.
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Samsung microSD Specific Card for Nintendo Change 2: 256GB ($60)
The Lexar Play Professional on prime of Lexar’s RW540 microSD Specific card reader.
(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)
Broadly talking, we suggest getting a minimum of 256GB of storage, as Change 2 video games are likely to have a lot bigger file sizes than video games for Nintendo’s earlier handheld. However we additionally suggest holding off upgrading for so long as you’ll be able to, if solely as a result of all of those playing cards ought to (tariff shenanigans apart) come down in worth as time goes on.
There’s no level in shopping for a microSD Specific card for something moreover the Change 2, however we did run the fashions above by means of our ordinary PC benchmarks as nicely. Unsurprisingly, they’re miles sooner than any conventional card available on the market.
With the 256GB SanDisk card, as an example, sequential learn speeds checked in slightly below 900 MB/s in CrystalDiskMark and ATTO, whereas sequential writes topped out round 650 MB/s. Sustained writes speeds have been slower (round 210 MB/s), however that was nonetheless quick sufficient to maneuver our 12GB check file to the cardboard in 52 seconds on common. It took a mere 20 seconds to learn the file again to our PC. The write check with our smaller 1.15GB check folder, in the meantime, averaged simply 4.5 seconds.
All of it provides as much as efficiency that is a minimum of twice as quick as the very best UHS-I fashions we’ve examined by way of sequential reads and writes, with three or 4 occasions the speeds in some circumstances. The gulf in random reads and writes is analogous, and in some benchmarks even larger. However you want a dear SD card reader to even see these will increase on a PC, so solely these with a Change 2 in hand or critical money to burn ought to contemplate one among this stuff.
Different notable microSD playing cards
Samsung Professional Final
The Samsung Professional Final was the closest competitor to the Lexar Skilled Silver Plus throughout our benchmark checks, however it’s tangibly worse by way of sequential write speeds, usually prices extra and doesn’t provide a 1TB choice. The Samsung Professional Plus is a bit slower for sequential reads, however it’s shut sufficient in any other case and normally simpler to search out at a cheaper price.
Lexar Skilled Gold
We’ve not used it ourselves, however when you’re prepared to pay for a extra highly effective UHS-II card constructed for heavy-duty video recording, the Lexar Skilled Gold has examined nicely elsewhere and will ship considerably sooner sequential write speeds than our UHS-I picks above. It’s one of many few UHS-II playing cards we might truly discover in inventory, however it’s expensive, with a 128GB mannequin usually priced within the $35 to $40 vary.
SanDisk Excessive
The SanDisk Excessive successfully matched the Professional Plus in a couple of of our sequential checks, however that was partly as a consequence of us solely with the ability to safe the 256GB mannequin, which is higher-rated than the 128GB model. It’s a nice alternative when you see it on sale at a good vendor, however it’s broadly slower than our prime choose and sometimes prices extra.
SanDisk GamePlay
The SanDisk GamePlay performs equally to the SanDisk Excessive however prices an excellent bit additional as of our newest replace. We couldn’t get it to achieve its marketed speeds with the corporate’s personal “Professional” card reader or different third-party choices, so it fell wanting our prime picks.
SanDisk Pokémon
The SanDisk Pokémon does outperform its marketed learn and write speeds, however not by sufficient to outpace the Lexar Silver Plus or Samsung Professional Plus. It primarily costs additional for having an image of Pikachu (or Gengar, or Snorlax) on a product you’ll by no means take a look at.
SanDisk Excessive Professional
The SanDisk Excessive Professional is an in depth analog to the Samsung Professional Final however, as of this writing, is both unavailable at most trusted retailers or priced too excessive by comparability. The Lexar Skilled Silver Plus has sooner sequential write speeds as nicely.
PNY XLR8 Gaming
The PNY XLR8 is an inexpensive card that comes with as much as 512GB of area. Its sequential and random writes speeds checked in slightly bit above these of Samsung’s Evo Choose, plus it comes with a lifetime guarantee. However its sequential reads have been a lot, a lot slower, placing it out of rivalry.
PNY Elite-X
The PNY Elite-X typically goes for reasonable and wasn’t too far off the random learn/write efficiency of Samsung’s Professional Plus in CrystalDiskMark. Just like the XLR8, it’s additionally barely above the Evo Choose in write speeds. However its sequential reads have been too far behind all of our prime picks, and it now not seems to be out there in capacities above 256GB.
What to search for in a microSD card
Capability
The very first thing to determine when shopping for a microSD card is how a lot space for storing you want. Fashionable playing cards are generally out there in sizes starting from 32GB to 512GB, with a number of fashions now out there in 1TB or 1.5TB capacities as nicely. The primary 2TB playing cards from main manufacturers have began to reach as nicely, which is thrilling, however these are nonetheless pretty uncommon (and really costly) by comparability.
For a lot of, a 128GB or 256GB mannequin ought to be a candy spot between worth and space for storing. However when you want extra room — say, for stashing a bunch of video games on a Steam Deck — a 512GB card or larger might make extra sense and sometimes gives a greater cost-per-GB ratio. Today, you’ll find an honest 128GB card for round $15, an excellent 256GB card for lower than $30 and a stable 512GB card for round $40 (with sooner fashions priced slightly larger). There’s a starker enhance if you go as much as 1TB playing cards, which regularly value nearer to $100, although we’ve seen some fall into the $70 to $80 vary extra continuously during the last yr. The primary 2TB playing cards are an even bigger leap: the 2TB SanDisk Excessive, for instance, now has a listing worth round $200, which is down a bit from its unique MSRP however nonetheless removed from low-cost.
Be aware {that a} microSD card’s efficiency could differ relying on what capability you purchase. SanDisk says its 128GB Excessive card delivers sequential write speeds as much as 90 MB/s, for instance, whereas the higher-capacity fashions in the identical line provide as much as 130 MB/s.
After we speak about microSD playing cards at the moment, we typically confer with playing cards that use the microSDXC (eXtended Capability) commonplace, which have a capability between 32GB and 2TB. Your gadget must assist this for it to work with a microSDXC card. This may nearly by no means be a problem today, however some older gadgets (a Nintendo 3DS, as an example) are solely suitable with microSDHC (Excessive Capability) playing cards, which vary from 2GB to 32GB.
Learn and write speeds
MicroSD playing cards are primarily judged on their learn and write speeds, that are normally measured in megabytes per second (MB/s). Usually, most microSD playing cards have sooner learn speeds than write speeds.
These metrics can then be damaged down into sequential and random efficiency. Sequential learn and write speeds matter if you’re making an attempt to entry (learn) or save (write) lengthy, fixed streams of knowledge, comparable to opening a big video or copying an enormous batch of recordsdata from a PC. If you wish to use a microSD card for media storage, that is significantly essential. Random efficiency, in the meantime, is about how rapidly a card can learn and write small recordsdata scattered all through the gadget.
Since random learn/write speeds are a lot decrease than sequential ones, storage gadget makers have a tendency to not promote them as loudly. However they’re essential when you use a card with a gaming gadget or a single-board pc just like the Raspberry Pi, the place it typically has to quickly save and entry small bits of knowledge in random areas.
Velocity scores
If you happen to take a look at a microSD card, you’ll see a buffet of numbers, letters and symbols. Most of those confer with the cardboard’s velocity class and efficiency scores, that are decided by the SD Affiliation.
A card’s Video Velocity Class, or V-rating, particulars its minimal sequential write velocity, which is particularly essential when recording video from a digital camera. It ranges from V6 to V90. A lot of the playing cards we examined had a V30 ranking, in order that they have a sequential write velocity of a minimum of 30 MB/s. This ought to be sufficient to assist as much as 4K video at decrease bitrates. Greater-rated V60 and V90 playing cards are normally higher for capturing 8K, however they arrive at a a lot larger value.
The UHS Velocity Class, or U-rating, additionally refers to a card’s minimal sequential write velocity. It is available in two varieties: U3, which mandates a minimal of 30 MB/s, and U1, which is rated for 10 MB/s.
The older Velocity Class ranking overlaps with the opposite two methods. It’s signified by a C image and goes from Class 2 to Class 10, with the quantity (once more) indicating minimal sequential write velocity. This ranking is much less related these days, however you should still see a “C10” emblem on some playing cards.
The Utility Efficiency spec, marked by an An emblem, is an indicator of random learn/write speeds. That is measured in IOPS, or enter/output operations per second, moderately than MB/s. There are two classes right here: A1 playing cards provide a minimal random learn velocity of 1,500 IOPS and a minimal random write velocity of 500 IOPS, whereas A2 playing cards bump these as much as 4,000 IOPS and a couple of,000 IOPS, respectively. Each scores additionally assure sequential write speeds of a minimum of 10 MB/s.
To maintain it easy, most individuals ought to search for a card with V30, U3 and A2 scores. It’s completely doable to get a stable card with out these: A U1 card may be price it when you simply want an affordable, high-capacity choice, for instance. V60 and V90 playing cards are price a glance when you’re critical about capturing high-resolution pictures and video as nicely. However general, playing cards with the certifications above ought to present the very best mix of worth and efficiency at the moment.
It’s essential to emphasise that these scores are baselines. Most V30 playing cards provide considerably larger write speeds than 30 MB/s, as an example, and a few A1 playing cards can outperform some A2 fashions in follow. The speeds marketed by producers aren’t at all times one hundred pc correct, both: Generally the cardboard might be slower in real-world use, different occasions it might truly be a bit sooner.
UHS bus speeds
The opposite spec to notice is the cardboard’s bus interface. Most microSD playing cards out there at the moment are UHS-I, which has a theoretical most velocity of 104 MB/s. There are additionally UHS-II playing cards, which have an additional row of pins on the again and may attain as much as 312 MB/s. (A UHS-III commonplace technically exists as nicely however hasn’t seen broad adoption.) These are labeled on the cardboard with a Roman numeral I or II.
UHS-II playing cards are usually those with these larger V60 or V90 scores. If you happen to shoot numerous 4K to 8K video or continuously use burst mode to seize extremely high-res pictures, the efficiency features of an excellent UHS-II card can prevent time.
Nevertheless, these are usually rather more costly than UHS-I playing cards: This 128GB Lexar Skilled Gold mannequin, as an example, is a relative discount at $35. Whereas that is lower than many UHS-II fashions we’ve seen previously, it is nonetheless greater than double the frequent road worth of our prime choose above. You want a tool that’s suitable with the UHS-II interface to see any advantages, too, and inventory for UHS-II playing cards is usually spottier. For now, the upper speeds aren’t definitely worth the worth premium for most individuals, so we caught largely to UHS-I playing cards with our suggestions.
In contrast to conventional UHS-I playing cards, a microSD Specific card just like the SanDisk mannequin on the proper comes with a second row of pins to allow its improved efficiency.
(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)
microSD Specific and the Nintendo Change 2
Absolutely the quickest microSD playing cards you should purchase, nonetheless, are primarily based on a special interface known as SD Specific. This has technically been round for a number of years and now contains its personal subset of velocity courses, however the gist is that it is a lot sooner than UHS-I or UHS-II: SanDisk’s not too long ago launched microSD Specific card, one of many first commercially out there fashions, advertises sequential learn speeds as much as 880MB/s. That’s faster than some older SSDs.
It’s a considerable improve that has largely held up in our testing, however only a few common gadgets natively assist SD Specific at the moment. The primary main exception is the Nintendo Change 2, which is solely suitable with the newer commonplace, because it’s wanted to maintain up with the efficiency calls for of recent handheld video games.
Moreover SanDisk, producers like Samsung, Lexar and PNY have already launched microSD Specific playing cards to go together with the console. The presumption is that having such a preferred gadget embrace the tech will solely additional its adoption and drive costs down.
However it’s nonetheless early days, and proper now all microSD Specific playing cards value rather more than the very best UHS-I and even UHS-II choices. Past the Change 2, it’s doable to make the most of these playing cards’ superior speeds with a devoted SD Specific card reader, however that provides much more to the ultimate value. It’s additionally price noting that SD Specific playing cards should not backwards suitable with UHS-II (or UHS-III), so when you attempt to plug one into a tool with a UHS-II slot, it’ll be restricted to UHS-I speeds. Nonetheless, they’re a should for Nintendo followers going ahead, and the tech ought to have loads of attraction if extra devices that assist the interface do arrive.
For extra on how the primary wave of Specific playing cards carry out on the Change 2, we have put collectively a devoted shopping for information only for Nintendo’s console.
A observe on card readers and reaching marketed speeds
Whereas the UHS-I interface has a theoretical most of 104 MB/s, some UHS-I playing cards can exceed that velocity by means of proprietary extensions. Nevertheless, you want a suitable card reader and host gadget to make the most of that additional efficiency. If you happen to discover a UHS-I card promoting speeds larger than 104 MB/s, that is what’s occurring. You’ll be able to see these limits in motion with an unique Nintendo Change or Steam Deck: Each of these gaming gadgets assist the UHS-I interface however don’t transcend its official velocity, flattening any sequential features some playing cards could have elsewhere. (Variations in random learn and write speeds can nonetheless matter, although.) The identical factor will occur when you plug a extra highly effective UHS-II or SD Specific card into a tool that doesn’t settle for these interfaces.
The takeaway: Your microSD card will solely be as quick because the slowest hyperlink in your chain.
Guarantee
Many microSD playing cards are designed to be sturdy, with safety from water, excessive temperatures, X-rays and drops. Nonetheless, in case of disaster, a protracted guarantee is at all times good to have. Many producers provide lifetime or 10-year restricted warranties, although we’ve seen that “endurance” playing cards marketed to face up to extra hours of writing are normally lined for a shorter time frame. For instance, Samsung’s Professional Endurance, a mannequin aimed toward safety cameras and different monitoring gadgets, comes with a five-year guarantee.
Avoiding counterfeits
The reminiscence card market has had a selected downside with scammers promoting pretend merchandise. To protect in opposition to this, solely purchase from a identified model and a good retailer comparable to Finest Purchase, B&H Picture or Adorama. If you happen to store at Amazon, solely purchase if the shipper and vendor is Amazon.com. (That mentioned, a handful of customers have reported receiving counterfeits even from Amazon instantly previously, so train warning.) Bear in mind: If a worth appears too good to be true, it in all probability is. Be cautious of any retailer providing a considerably cheaper price than everybody else.
When you obtain a card, verify its packaging for any irregularities. You’ll be able to run benchmark checks like CrystalDiskMark or BlackMagic Disk Velocity Take a look at to confirm its speeds aren’t drastically decrease than what’s marketed (or doable, given its specs). You can too use software program that’s designed to confirm the true capability and efficiency of your card, comparable to H2testw and FakeFlashTest.
A number of of the microSD card readers we have used for testing.
(Jeff Dunn for Engadget)
How we check microSD playing cards
We have put about 20 microSD playing cards by means of a collection of checks to confirm their sequential and random efficiency. These included benchmarks like CrystalDiskMark, BlackMagic Disk Velocity Take a look at, ATTO Disk Benchmark and AJA System Take a look at, in addition to a couple of “real-world” checks. We copied and pasted a small folder of pictures about 1.15GB in measurement to and from every card, then did the identical with a bigger 12.2GB folder containing a number of file varieties and subfolders, timing the method every time. We additionally checked how every card carried out on the Steam Deck, downloading video games of various sizes — together with Stardew Valley, Aperture Desk Job, Steel Gear Rising: Revengeance and Apex Legends — then timing how lengthy it took to launch every sport and cargo save recordsdata. We do a number of runs of every check to confirm our findings and account for potential outliers.
The place relevant, we used a Kingston USB 3.2 UHS-II reader to check every card on each Home windows 11 and macOS Sequoia. Nevertheless, if a card may very well be bundled with (or is particularly marketed to make use of) a proprietary reader, we primarily examined with that, since we determine that’s the one most consumers will find yourself utilizing. For Home windows testing, we used an Alienware gaming PC with an Intel Core i9-10900F, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. For macOS, we used a 2021 16-inch MacBook Professional with an Apple M1 Professional chip, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. If a reader couldn’t join over USB-C, we used CalDigit’s TS4 dock to check the corresponding card on the MacBook.
We examined the 128GB model of every card at any time when we might, although we have been solely capable of check higher-capacity fashions for a couple of choices. We additionally reformatted every card earlier than testing with the SD Affiliation’s Reminiscence Card Formatter device.
For microSD Specific playing cards, we ran every mannequin by means of a collection of checks particular to the Change 2, since that’s the solely common gadget that really helps the tech. You’ll be able to learn extra about that course of in our separate shopping for information linked above.
Latest updates
September 2025: We’ve fleshed out our recommendation on shopping for a microSD Specific card for the Nintendo Change 2. We plan on testing a couple of newer releases from Kingston, SanDisk, Lexar and PNY in a future replace.
Might 2025: We’ve up to date this information to make sure our recommendation is correct and to replicate the brand new Nintendo Change 2’s use of microSD Specific playing cards. We’ve additionally added testing notes for the Lexar Play Professional microSD Specific card and the extra commonplace PNY XLR8. We’ve eliminated mentions of some playing cards which have seemingly been discontinued, together with the unique Kingston Canvas Go Plus, the Lexar Skilled 1066x and the 2021 Samsung Evo Choose. We plan to check extra new microSD Specific playing cards for a future replace.
February 2025: We’ve up to date this information with a brand new prime choose: the Lexar Skilled Silver Plus. The Samsung Professional Plus, our earlier suggestion, stays as a runner-up. We’ve additionally added SanDisk’s not too long ago launched microSD Specific card as a choose for many who need absolutely the quickest card doable, albeit with heavy caveats. This is among the first microSD playing cards to make use of the SD Specific bus interface, so we’ve included extra particulars on what that entails in our “what to search for in a microSD card” part. Lastly, we’ve eliminated our write-up for SanDisk’s Apex Legends card, because it seems to have been discontinued, and included testing notes for a few the corporate’s newer releases.
November 2024: We have checked again with this information to make sure our suggestions are nonetheless correct and made gentle edits for readability.
August 2024: We’ve up to date this information to notice the not too long ago launched 1TB fashions for 3 of our prime picks: the Samsung Professional Plus, the Kingston Canvas Go Plus and the Samsung Evo Choose. We’ve additionally made positive all pricing particulars are as updated as they are often.