Walmart's Dirt Cheap 256GB MicroSD Express Card For Switch 2 Is Back In Stock
One of the most sought-after storage cards for Switch 2 owners is back in stock, though who knows for how long. What makes this model so desirable is that microSD Express are, for the time being, comparatively expensive to non-Express variants. That will probably change as time goes on, but for now, this is the best deal around for expandable Switch 2 storage.
The card in question is the Onn 256GB microSD Express, which is back in stock for $35.77 at Walmart. No, that's not a sale price, but it is the cheapest 256GB microSD Express card around at the moment and it's not really close. To put it into perspective, an officially licensed Samsung 256GB microSD Express card sells for $59.99 at Walmart and Best Buy.
There are a couple of things to unpack here. First, let's talk about the Onn brand. It's basically Walmart's house brand for a wide range of electronics, similar to Best Buy's Insignia brand and Amazon Basic items at Amazon.
As to Onn's microSD Express cards, there is a thread on Reddit that shows the vendor ID as Longsys, which is the parent company of Lexar. It's possible that these cards didn't meet certain speed requirements for Lexar's higher end models, and so they were sold to Walmart rather than scrapped. Or it could simply be a case of Walmart getting a good deal on microSD Express cards by way of a bulk order.
In this case, the 256GB model is rated to deliver up to 800MB/s for reads and up to 600MB/s for writes. Also notable is that the listing clearly states that this card is "compatible with Switch 2," along with a various other systems.
This brings us to the other point in need of unpacking. The Switch 2 (see what reviews have to say about the console) is one of the first consumer devices to support the SD Express protocol, even though it's been around for quite some time (the protocol was launched in 2016). What that means is that you can't recycle the regular microSD card you're using in your Switch 1 console for your fancy new Switch 2—you must use a microSD Express card for expandable storage.
Your expandable storage options will improve over time, but as of right now, here are the best values we've found at each capacity...
- 128GB PNY microSD Express: $44.99 at Amazon
- 256GB Onn microSD Express: $35.77 at Walmart
- 256GB PNY microSD Express: $54.92 at Amazon
- 512GB Onn microSD Express: $65.77 at Walmart
- 1TB GameStop microSD Express: $189.99 at GameStop
- 1TB Lexar microSD Express: $219.99 at Adorama
We included a secondary 256GB option just because Onn's lower-priced model has a habit of selling out. Additionally, Lexar recently announced that it was the first to offer a 1TB microSD Express card. The only other model we're aware of is GameStop's card, which has the benefit of being cheaper to boot (though it's not cheap storage by any stretch).
