Patriot Memory Launches EP Express microSD Card Compatible With Nintendo Switch 2

[GFreeman]

Patriot Memory, proudly announces the launch of its latest EP Express microSD card, leveraging cutting-edge microSD Express technology. Available in capacities of 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB, the EP Express is engineered to meet the rigorous demands of Nintendo Switch 2 users and next-generation mobile devices requiring both high-speed performance and flexible storage expansion.

Designed for Nintendo Switch 2 and featuring cutting-edge microSD Express technology, the Patriot EP Express microSD card delivers blazing-fast read/write speeds of up to 800/600 MB/s, significantly reducing game downloads, installations, and updates while ensuring smooth performance for save data and high-resolution media capture.



Recognizing the needs of Nintendo Switch 2 gamers for both rapid storage access and substantial capacity, Patriot's EP Express offers a range of options designed to complement the Switch 2's built-in 256 GB storage. Opting for the 512 GB variant effectively triples available storage, providing ample space for AAA games, downloadable content, and saved data. This ensures uninterrupted gameplay and quick readiness for new challenges.

The advanced microSD Express interface significantly enhances responsiveness for saving game progress, capturing screenshots, and recording high-definition videos, delivering a smooth and reliable user experience. As such, the EP Express microSD card represents an ideal upgrade path for Switch 2 users seeking performance, stability, and speed.

Beyond gaming, the EP Express microSD card's forward-compatible specifications ensure readiness for future storage and data transfer needs. Fully compliant with the microSD Express standard, it offers high-speed read/write capabilities suitable for a variety of applications, including handheld consoles, virtual reality devices, drones, and high-resolution imaging equipment. This versatility makes it a dependable storage solution for users who demand both performance and expandability, perfectly catering to gamers and creators alike.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Dr. Dro]

I get it's PR speak, but I find it hilarious to read "rigorous demands" followed by "of Nintendo Switch 2 users", when that console couldn't be more of a low performance steaming heap if it tried. Maybe for upcoming PC handhelds with a compatible SD EX reader and with some luck, a few Android devices that haven't yet ditched the slot. microSD Express is nice on paper, but with the prices as they are and the limited amount of compatible devices, I guess adoption will be quite slow. The average consumer never really bought SanDisk Extreme Pro's and the pricing on all brands' SD EX cards are on that realm and up.

 

[Chaitanya]

I get it's PR speak, but I find it hilarious to read "rigorous demands" followed by "of Nintendo Switch 2 users", when that console couldn't be more of a low performance steaming heap if it tried. Maybe for upcoming PC handhelds with a compatible SD EX reader and with some luck, a few Android devices that haven't yet ditched the slot. microSD Express is nice on paper, but with the prices as they are and the limited amount of compatible devices, I guess adoption will be quite slow. The average consumer never really bought SanDisk Extreme Pro's and the pricing on all brands' SD EX cards are on that realm and up.

Looking at the trend set with this years low mid-range Cellphone launches(Samsung A3x and above) it really seems like the battle for keeping removable memory cards slot is already lost along with 3.5mm headset jack. I am getting Nokia/HMD's 4G enabled feature phone that lacks camera as part of moving away from "smartphones".

 

[Dr. Dro]

Looking at the trend set with this years low mid-range Cellphone launches(Samsung A3x and above) it really seems like the battle for keeping removable memory cards slot is already lost along with 3.5mm headset jack. I am getting Nokia/HMD's 4G enabled feature phone that lacks camera as part of moving away from "smartphones".

Yep, the last flagship phone that had both the headphone jack and a memory card slot was the Galaxy S10... from 2019. A functionally obsolete phone, since neither Android, nor Google Play system or security updates have been issued to it in the past 3.5 years. Even if things "still work", a device that requires any amount of trustworthiness (since we use phones to pay bills, send private messages, etc.) cannot run an OS that hasn't been patched for that long.

With Samsung focusing on form for the Galaxy S series (even the S25 Ultra lacks a slot) and streamlining the A series to reduce manufacturing costs, Sony having exited the business entirely in almost every region and slowly retiring from manufacturing their Xperias in the regions they still service, as well as most Chinese devices being manufactured with either the trends set by Apple and Samsung or cost in mind, the amount of phones that will take a micro SD at all is shrinking by the day, let alone these new Express cards.

Memory cards are still extremely popular across a wide range of devices, but then again so is SATA, and SATA Express (which was an attempt to do the same to SATA SSDs) ended up stillborn. I have some reticence regarding the viability of SD EX long term, but it's good to see that at least all brands seem to be making them available, just need lower prices.

 

[ZeDestructor]

Yep, the last flagship phone that had both the headphone jack and a memory card slot was the Galaxy S10... from 2019. A functionally obsolete phone, since neither Android, nor Google Play system or security updates have been issued to it in the past 3.5 years. Even if things "still work", a device that requires any amount of trustworthiness (since we use phones to pay bills, send private messages, etc.) cannot run an OS that hasn't been patched for that long.

With Samsung focusing on form for the Galaxy S series (even the S25 Ultra lacks a slot) and streamlining the A series to reduce manufacturing costs, Sony having exited the business entirely in almost every region and slowly retiring from manufacturing their Xperias in the regions they still service, as well as most Chinese devices being manufactured with either the trends set by Apple and Samsung or cost in mind, the amount of phones that will take a micro SD at all is shrinking by the day, let alone these new Express cards.

Memory cards are still extremely popular across a wide range of devices, but then again so is SATA, and SATA Express (which was an attempt to do the same to SATA SSDs) ended up stillborn. I have some reticence regarding the viability of SD EX long term, but it's good to see that at least all brands seem to be making them available, just need lower prices.

Nonsense. Sony is still out there, the lone holdout doing a flagship with both microSD and headphone jack (even though I would personally much prefer a second, more flexible USB-C port).

 

[Dr. Dro]

Nonsense. Sony is still out there, the lone holdout doing a flagship with both microSD and headphone jack (even though I would personally much prefer a second, more flexible USB-C port).

As stated, regional market availability is extremely limited, and they stopped manufacturing their own devices, meaning, these are now contracted out. The Xperia 1 VII is probably the last device that meets this criteria, pricing on it is vile as is and you can't buy it almost anywhere in the world.

Sony has reportedly stopped manufacturing its own Xperia phones

According to a new report, Sony has stopped manufacturing its own Xperia phones, instead turning to third-parties.

9to5google.com

 

[ZeDestructor]

As stated, regional market availability is extremely limited, and they stopped manufacturing their own devices, meaning, these are now contracted out. The Xperia 1 VII is probably the last device that meets this criteria, pricing on it is vile as is and you can't buy it almost anywhere in the world.

Sony has reportedly stopped manufacturing its own Xperia phones

According to a new report, Sony has stopped manufacturing its own Xperia phones, instead turning to third-parties.

9to5google.com

I don't see any problem with outsourced manufacturing. If it's good enough for Apple, it's good enough for any high-end brand in the same market segment. Assuming they can maintain the build quality, of course. Besides, it's not even their first go at outsourcing manufacturing - the first Xperia running Windows Mobile was manufactured (and at least partially engineered) by HTC.

As for availability, that's only really relevant for the Americas (it's missing a few bands used there so coverage can be a bit spotty), but everywhere else you can import it and it'll work just fine (including Aus, where they have an allowlist on their networks thanks to their VoLTE shift). Availability would improve if people, yknow, bought them, and with them upgrading software support from 2 years to 6 years (with 4 OS upgrades), that particular reason to not buy it essentially gone.

 

[Dr. Dro]

I don't see any problem with outsourced manufacturing. If it's good enough for Apple, it's good enough for any high-end brand in the same market segment. Assuming they can maintain the build quality, of course. Besides, it's not even their first go at outsourcing manufacturing - the first Xperia running Windows Mobile was manufactured (and at least partially engineered) by HTC.

As for availability, that's only really relevant for the Americas (it's missing a few bands used there so coverage can be a bit spotty), but everywhere else you can import it and it'll work just fine (including Aus, where they have an allowlist on their networks thanks to their VoLTE shift). Availability would improve if people, yknow, bought them, and with them upgrading software support from 2 years to 6 years (with 4 OS upgrades), that particular reason to not buy it essentially gone.

Let's be realistic, the chances of an Android manufacturer on their last legs supporting their phones for 6 years is basically zero, and 4 upgrades isn't enough, it should receive every new version through the device's expected service life. Apple literally just discontinued 2018's iPhone XS line this year. The Galaxy S9 has been abandoned for half a decade by now. For devices of that price, 2 years of software maintenance is completely unacceptable.

 

[Discostew]

I get it's PR speak, but I find it hilarious to read "rigorous demands" followed by "of Nintendo Switch 2 users", when that console couldn't be more of a low performance steaming heap if it tried. Maybe for upcoming PC handhelds with a compatible SD EX reader and with some luck, a few Android devices that haven't yet ditched the slot. microSD Express is nice on paper, but with the prices as they are and the limited amount of compatible devices, I guess adoption will be quite slow. The average consumer never really bought SanDisk Extreme Pro's and the pricing on all brands' SD EX cards are on that realm and up.

The Switch 2 has a hardware file decompression block as per the information of the T239 from the Nvidia leak of '22. A block very similar to what PS5 and Series consoles have to handle the task of decompression, leaving the CPU to do whatever it wants.

PCs in general still operate on software decompression because everyone has their own format to work with, but they aren't as fast as the hardware solutions. For comparison using the 7-zip benchmark tool, an i7 11800H using all 16 threads at 4Ghz is only able to do decompression at an output rate of 900MB/s (input rate is much less).

As much as portable PCs use NVMe drives internally, it's mainly for the OS that isn't reliant on compression that can take advantageof the speed, and why games, which are heavily compressed, don't have a drastic change between being loaded from internal storage as opposed to loading from external microSD.

 

[Dr. Dro]

The Switch 2 has a hardware file decompression block as per the information of the T239 from the Nvidia leak of '22. A block very similar to what PS5 and Series consoles have to handle the task of decompression, leaving the CPU to do whatever it wants.

PCs in general still operate on software decompression because everyone has their own format to work with, but they aren't as fast as the hardware solutions. For comparison using the 7-zip benchmark tool, an i7 11800H using all 16 threads at 4Ghz is only able to do decompression at an output rate of 900MB/s (input rate is much less).

As much as portable PCs use NVMe drives internally, it's mainly for the OS that isn't reliant on compression that can take advantageof the speed, and why games, which are heavily compressed, don't have a drastic change between being loaded from internal storage as opposed to loading from external microSD.

I'm aware of it... it doesn't change the fact that it's pitifully weak hardware and that performance is pretty much the last thing in Nintendo customers' minds. Also don't all modern GPUs do DirectStorage anyway?

 

[Discostew]

I'm aware of it... it doesn't change the fact that it's pitifully weak hardware and that performance is pretty much the last thing in Nintendo customers' minds. Also don't all modern GPUs do DirectStorage anyway?

I wouldn't really say it's pitiful hardware, considering what it has under the hood and how power efficient it is in the process. Mhz and even TFlops are not good measures as-is.

Also, DirectStorage is not a GPU thing. It's a means to bypass much of Windows IO limitations to utilize the bandwidth of high-speed storage. But assets are still handled by the CPU. You're probably thinking of RTX IO, which is an Nvidia technology.

 

[ZeDestructor]

Let's be realistic, the chances of an Android manufacturer on their last legs supporting their phones for 6 years is basically zero, and 4 upgrades isn't enough, it should receive every new version through the device's expected service life. Apple literally just discontinued 2018's iPhone XS line this year. The Galaxy S9 has been abandoned for half a decade by now. For devices of that price, 2 years of software maintenance is completely unacceptable.

Sony seems to be happy to take keep taking relatively small losses to remain in the market (unlike LG), although in more recent times they've turned back into making a small profit. Iunno how they managed to convince their board for like 7 years straight that it was going to turn around during the worst years, but they managed it, and they don't seem to have any interest to exit the market.

You're right that 2 years of software support is rather laughable, but it's not 2 years anymore, it's 6 years of software support that will see 5 major OS versions and monthly security updates (unlike many of their competition who manage quarterly, including Samsung on lower-end devices like the A35 and lower). I don't mind missing out the final major OS version, given that I have seen exactly no obviously visible new/improved features on Android since Android 11 where they added one-time permissions. 12 added Material You which i felt was a downgrade. 13, 14 and 15 added nothing of note.

16's only new feature I might notice is Live Notifications, and even if I do see it, it will be an incredibly incremental improvement over what has been around since 2.3. Health Records is a bigger change, but thanks to not having a watch or ring (yet.. I might get a ring in the next year or two) I have managed to just point and laugh at all the privacy/security fails of health/fitness tracking.

If Sony manages to get SiC batteries next year, I think I'll be going back to Sony, because I really like their software skin, the hardware and especially (now that I've owned my S24 Ultra for a few months) the (lack of) camera processing.