A real-world review of the Lexar PLAY PRO 512GB microSD Express memory card for the Nintendo Switch 2.
We look at game load times, file copy times, actual usable storage capacity, and the country of manufacture and ownership.
We also compare the Lexar PLAY PRO card to 4 other popular microSD Express cards for a true comparison.
If you prefer you can watch our video review. Otherwise just keep scrolling down.
Lexar Manufacturers Specifications
First here's a quick look at the manufacturer's specification for the Lexar card as well as four other popular cards.
| microSD Express Card | Max Read Speed | Max Write Speed | Sustained Write Speed | Speed Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexar 512GB PLAY PRO microSDXC Express Memory Card | 900 MB/s | 600 MB/s | NA | U3 / A1 |
| PNY 512GB microSD Express Memory Card | 890 MB/s | 810 MB/s | NA | U3 / V30 / A1 |
| SanDisk 512GB microSD Express Memory Card | 880 MB/s | 650 MB/s | 220 MB/s | U3 / A1 |
| Samsung 512GB P9 microSD Express Memory Card | 800 MB/s | NA | NA | Class 10 / U3 / V30 |
| Transcend 512GB USD710S microSD Express Memory Card | 900 MB/s | 780 MB/s | NA | U3 / V30 / A1 |
It's very important to note that the maximum read and write speeds that the manufacturers like to provide, don't actually provide a true picture of how the cards perform when used in the Switch 2.
Sustained read and write speeds are slightly more useful, but other than SanDisk nobody is providing these figures.
The maximum speeds are often reduced very quickly due to thermal management, also the Switch 2 limits the maximum speed that cards can read and write, so you'll never see anything close to these numbers when used in the Switch 2.
The only way to find out the true read and write performance is by testing them all in the Switch 2. This is what we are going to do next.
Game Load Times
We tested how long each microSD Express card took to load the first title screen from Mario Kart World, here are the results:
| microSD Express Card | Load Time |
|---|---|
| Switch 2 System Memory | 16s 190ms |
| Lexar 512GB PLAY PRO microSDXC Express Memory Card | 19s 480ms |
| PNY 512GB microSD Express Memory Card | 18s 530ms |
| SanDisk 512GB microSD Express Memory Card | 19s 080ms |
| Samsung 512GB P9 microSD Express Memory Card | 19s 370ms |
| Transcend 512GB USD710S microSD Express Memory Card | 19s 510ms |
The Lexar PLAY PRO microSD Express 512GB card was slightly slower than all cards except for the Transcend card, but there's not much in it really.
Game Read Times
Next we tested how long each it took to copy Mario Kart World (21.9 GB) from each microSD Express card to the internal memory, here are the results:
| microSD Express Card | Copy Time | Sustained Read Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Lexar 512GB PLAY PRO microSDXC Express Memory Card | 3m 42s | 99 MB/s |
| PNY 512GB microSD Express Memory Card | 3m 26s | 106 MB/s |
| SanDisk 512GB microSD Express Memory Card | 3m 43s | 98 MB/s |
| Samsung 512GB P9 microSD Express Memory Card | 3m 41s | 99 MB/s |
| Transcend 512GB USD710S microSD Express Memory Card | 3m 43s | 98 MB/s |
The Lexar card came joint second in our test. It copied Mario kart World (21.9 GB) from the cards to the system memory in 3 minutes and 42 seconds.
Because we know that this was 21.9GB we can calculate an approximate read speed figure of 99 MB/s. So not exactly the 900 MB/s we see on the card label!
Game Write Times
Next we tested how long each it took to copy Mario kart World (21.9 GB) from the internal storage to each microSD Express card, here are the results:
| microSD Express Card | Copy Time | Sustained Write Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Lexar 512GB PLAY PRO microSDXC Express Memory Card | 4m 12s | 87 MB/s |
| PNY 512GB microSD Express Memory Card | 4m 16s | 85 MB/s |
| SanDisk 512GB microSD Express Memory Card | 4m 00s | 91 MB/s |
| Samsung 512GB P9 microSD Express Memory Card | 5m 12s | 70 MB/s |
| Transcend 512GB USD710S microSD Express Memory Card | 4m 14s | 86 MB/s |
Taking 4 minutes and 12 seconds to write Mario Kart World to the Lexar microSD Express cards gives us an approximate write speed of 87 MB/s. Again, this is some way of the 600 MB/s on the cards label.
So the Lexar came in 2nd position, with the SanDisk being the fastest card tested here at 91 MB/s.
Usable Capacity
The labels may say 512GB but the actual usable capacity varies a little due to a number of reasons that we will not be covering in this review.
So here are the actual usable storage capacities after the cards have been formatted in the Switch 2.
| MicroSD Express Card | Label Capacity | Actual Usable Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Lexar PLAY PRO microSDXC Express | 512GB | 465GB |
| PNY microSD Express | 512GB | 476GB |
| SanDisk microSD Express | 512GB | 456GB |
| Samsung P9 microSD Express | 512GB | 477GB |
| Transcend USD710S microSD Express | 512GB | 470GB |
The Lexar PLAY PRO microSD Express 512GB has a usable capacity of 465GB. This is 12GB less than the Samsung card which has the most of all cards tested.
Country of Manufacture & Ownership
If you are interested in each cards country of manufacture and company ownership, then here are those details:
| MicroSD Express Card | Country of Manufacture | Country of Company Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Lexar PLAY PRO microSDXC Express | Taiwan | China |
| PNY microSD Express | Taiwan | America |
| SanDisk microSD Express | China | America |
| Samsung P9 microSD Express | Taiwan | South Korea |
| Transcend USD710S microSD Express | Taiwan | Taiwan |
The Lexar PLAY PRO microSD Express memory cards are manufactured in Taiwan, but the the country of company ownership is China.
Warranty
The Lexar PLAY PRO 512GB microSD Express card has a lifetime limited warranty for the original purchaser, though the specifics depend on the region. Some countries like Germany do not recognise lifetime warranties and usually limit them to a number of years.
This warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship but is void if there is misuse or tampering. Lexar is not liable for data loss, and you are responsible for backing up your data.
Conclusion
The Lexar PLAY PRO microSD Express card offers reasonable read and write performance in the Switch 2. It's not the fastest card but neither is it the slowest.
The actual usable capacity of 465GB is a little disappointing, especially when compared to the Samsung P9 which has 477GB. However, it's still better than the SanDisk card that offers just 456GB.
Overall the Lexar Play PRO microSD Express card is a good storage option for your Nintendo Switch 2 and one that we can highly recommend.
