Why you can trust TechRadar
We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can rest assured you're buying the best. Learn more about how we test.
Lexar Play Pro microSD Express Card: Review
Lexar Play Pro microSD Express card was mine Nintendo Switch 2 The microSD Express card has been the card of choice since it arrived at TechRadar Gaming HQ a few months ago.
This is the first 1TB microSD Express model to hit the market, and it's one of the few options if, like me, you need a lot of storage space to store the massive library of games for the Nintendo Switch 2. Add to that good benchmark scores and stellar real-world performance, and you've got the perfect upgrade for Nintendo's latest console—provided you can afford it.
Priced at $58.98 / £59.45 / AU$119.34, the 256GB version of the Lexar Play Pro Micro SD Express card nearly beats the price of its biggest competitor, the officially licensed card. SanDisk microSD Express Card for Nintendo Switch 2. Lexar also offers a slightly more affordable 128GB version, so those with very modest storage needs can save some money.
The star of the show, however, is the aforementioned 1TB variant, which retails for a much higher price of $199.99/£199.99. In my opinion, this is very fair for what you get, especially considering the high read speed of 831.97 MB/s achieved in my tests.
This is very close to the 900 MB/s read speed claimed by the manufacturer, and the difference can easily be explained by different testing conditions. However, the card performed much worse in terms of write speed, reaching 310.03 MB/s, which is just over half of the stated 600 MB/s.
Of course, some other cards do achieve faster speeds (much faster when it comes to write speeds), such as 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 notice any noticeable difference in the real world.
I didn't have any issues with dropped frames, slow resource loading, or noticeably increased load times in any of the games I played with this card, ranging from graphics-intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077: Complete Edition And Hitman World of Assassination – branded edition to less intense adventures such as Boldly Standard Flying Fairy HD Remaster.
Nothing beats the freedom of knowing that you won't have to fumble around to find a place to install every new game you get, and using a Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express card is highly recommended for that.
Lexar Play Pro microSD Express Card: Price and Specifications
|
Price |
$58.98 / £59.45 / AU$119.34 (256GB) |
|
Capacity |
256 GB/512 GB/1 TB |
|
Claimed reading speed |
900 MB/s |
|
Claimed write speed |
600 MB/s |
|
Test reading speed |
831.97 MB/s |
|
Test recording speed |
310.03 MB/s |
Is it worth buying a Lexar Play Pro microSD Express card?
Buy if…
Don't buy it if…
Also consider
Want to compare the Lexar Micro SD Express card to its biggest competitor? Here are two strong alternatives worth weighing.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Lexar Play Pro microSD Express Card |
SanDisk microSD Express Card for Nintendo Switch 2 |
microSD Express PNY card |
|
Price |
$58.98 / £59.45 / AU$119.34 (256GB) |
US$59.99 / £49.99 / AU$79.95 |
$59.99 / £59.99 / around AU$100 (256GB) |
|
Capacity |
256 GB/512 GB/1 TB |
256 GB |
128 GB/256 GB |
|
Claimed reading speed |
900 MB/s |
880 MB/s |
890 MB/s |
|
Claimed write speed |
600 MB/s |
650 MB/s |
550 MB/s |
|
Test reading speed |
831.97 MB/s |
894.4 MB/s |
893.74 MB/s |
|
Test recording speed |
310.03 MB/s |
674.1 MB/s |
713.42 MB/s |
How I tested the Lexar Play Pro microSD Express card
- Used for several months
- Tested on other microSD Express cards.
- Passes standardized performance tests
As I mentioned earlier, the Lexar Play Pro microSD Express card has been my personal microSD Express card for the Nintendo Switch 2 since it came out a few months ago. During my time with the card, I used it almost daily with my Nintendo Switch 2, constantly evaluating its performance in a wide variety of games.
I also benchmarked the card against its competitors in a series of standardized tests, directly recording and comparing results. I measured each card's sequential read and write speeds using the standard CrystalDiskMark benchmark with default flash settings.
To do this, I used a Lexar Play Pro MicroSD Express card reader with an active cooling fan. For the purposes of this review, Lexar provided it with a Lexar Micro SD Express card.
Find out more about how we test
First inspection November 2025
