Samsung is introducing new Pro Plus and Evo Plus microSD cards with capacities up to 1TB. The average Switch game is around 10GB, so you can store around 90 of them (keep in mind there is some file system overhead), though some are larger. For example, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition is nearly 40GB.
These new cards use a new 28nm controller,
which is more power efficient than the 55nm controllers used in older microSD
cards. Also, the new controller supports Low Density Parity Check error
correction code, which improves the card’s durability when it comes to
write-and-erase cycles. The performance enhancement is also attributed to
card's usage of 8th generation V-NAND technology.
The new Samsung Pro Plus cards are quite
fast, promising up to 180MB/s sequential read and up to 130MB/s sequential
write speeds. The Evo Plus cards are a bit slower at 160MB/s read and 120MB/s
write speeds. The cards are rated A2 for application storage, U3 and V30 for
general file storage and 4K video recording. These come in several sizes:
128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. The Evo Plus model also has a 64GB version, but
that is much slower – 60MB/s read, 20MB/s write and it only has A1/U1/V10
ratings. All cards have a 10-year limited warranty. They are designed to
withstand water, high temperatures, X-rays and magnetic fields.
The new cards are already available
globally. The faster Pro Plus models start at US$ 25 for a 128GB card and go up to US$ 154 for the 1TB model. The Evo Plus are cheaper with the 1TB model being US$ 132
(and the 64GB one is US$ 13, but, as noted above, it is much slower).
