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Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express Card: Review
Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express Card My Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express card has been a favorite since it arrived at TechRadar Gaming HQ a few months ago.
As the first 1TB microSD Express model to hit the market, it’s one of your few options if, like me, you absolutely need loads of storage for your Mega Nintendo Switch 2 game library. Combine that fact with its solid results in benchmarks and stellar performance in real-world use, and you have the ultimate upgrade for Nintendo’s latest console – provided you can afford it.
. At £58.98 / £59.45 / au$119.34, the 256GB version of the Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express Card is almost a bang on the price of its biggest competition, the officially licensed SanDisk MicroSD Express Card for Nintendo Switch 2 also offered in a much cheaper 128GB edition.
The star of the show is the aforementioned 1TB variant, though, which comes at a much more premium $199.99 / £199.99 price. In my eyes that’s very fair for what you’re getting, especially when you factor in the strong 831.97MB/s read speed it achieved in my benchmark.
This is very close to the 900MB/s read speed claimed by the manufacturer, with the difference easily attributable to different testing conditions. The card fared worse when it came to write speeds, however, reaching 310.03MB/s, more than half of the claimed 600MB/s.
Sure, some other cards reach higher speeds (when it comes to faster write speeds), like the aforementioned SanDisk microSD Express card for the Nintendo Switch 2 or the competing PNY microSD Express card, but you’d be hard-pressed to see any tangible difference in the real world.
I didn’t run into any issues with missed frames, slow-loading assets, or any kind of load times in any of the titles I played using this card, which ranged from graphically demanding titles. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition And Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition Less intense adventures like Bravely Default Flying Pre-Pre HD Remaster.
Nothing compares to the freedom of knowing you don’t have to scrounge around for space to install every new game you get, and, for that, the Lexar Play Pro microSD Express Card is recommended.
Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express Card: Price and Specs
Price | . 58.98 / £59.45 / au$119.34 (256GB) |
Ability | 256GB / 512GB / 1TB |
Reference reading speed | 900MB/s |
Referenced writing speed | 600MB/s |
Benchmark read speed | 831.97MB/s |
Benchmark write speed | 310.03MB/s |
Should I buy a Lexar Play Pro microSD Express card?
If you buy it…
If you don’t buy it…
Also consider
Want to compare the Lexar microSD Express card to its biggest competition? Here are two strong alternatives to weigh.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express Card | SanDisk MicroSD Express Card for Nintendo Switch 2 | PNY MicroSD Express Card |
Price | . 58.98 / £59.45 / au$119.34 (256GB) | . 59.99/. 49.99 / au $ 79.95 | . 59.99 / £59.99 / AU$100 (256GB) |
Ability | 256GB / 512GB / 1TB | 256 GB | 128GB / 256GB |
Reference reading speed | 900MB/s | 880MB/s | 890MB/s |
Referenced writing speed | 600MB/s | 650MB/s | 550MB/s |
Benchmark read speed | 831.97MB/s | 894.4MB/s | 893.74MB/s |
Benchmark write speed | 310.03MB/s | 674.1MB/s | 713.42MB/s |
How I Tested the Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express Card
- Used for several months
- Tested against other microSD Express cards
- Subjected to standard benchmark tests
As I mentioned earlier, the Lexar Play Pro microSD Express Card has been my personal Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Card since it arrived a few months ago. In my time with the card, I’ve used it almost daily with my own Nintendo Switch 2, constantly evaluating its performance across a wide range of games.
I also benchmarked the card against the competition in a series of standard tests, recording and comparing the results live. I measured the read and write speeds of each card configuration using standard benchmarks by Crystaldisk at its default flash memory settings.
To do this, I relied on the Lexar Play Pro microSD Express card reader, which features an active cooling fan. It was provided by Lexar along with the Lexar microSD Express card for the purpose of this review.
Read more about how we test
First reviewed November 2025
