5 Of The Best Micro SD Memory Cards For Your Nintendo Switch Lite
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Though they are pretty similar, there are a few key differences between the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite. For instance, the Nintendo Switch Lite is lighter and handheld only, and you may be more likely to play it outside of your home, such as while commuting. If that's the case, you'll want to make sure you have enough games on hand, especially if you'll be in locations where it's not feasible to keep downloading them from the cloud — which is where micro SD cards come in very handy.
Not all memory cards are made the same, however, and you'll want both high-quality micro SD cards as well as ones that are compatible with the Switch Lite. Because the average Switch game takes up about 10 GB, you'll want a memory card that can hold at least that amount, if not a lot more. For cards that hold 4 to 32 GB, the Switch Lite supports the micro SDHC format, and for 64 GB to 2 TB, it supports the micro SDXC format (and may require a system update to format correctly.)
A durable, high-performance memory card allows you to play any of the best Nintendo Switch games you'd like without any issues, so you'll want to make sure to purchase the right product for the job. Based on high ratings from customers who've used them (more on this at the end of the list), here are five of the best Micro SD memory cards for your Nintendo Switch Lite.
Kingston Digital 32 GB
While a 32 GB card can't hold much more than three games for your Nintendo Switch Lite, there are a few reasons you may prefer the smaller size. For one thing, you may not have many games you're currently playing at the moment and don't need additional storage, or you may prefer to keep games on multiple cards rather than keep all your digital eggs in one basket. The biggest advantage to going with a smaller card, of course, is that they are generally cheaper.
Picking up a Kingston 32 GB micro SD card for your Nintendo Switch Lite, for example, won't cost you more than a few bucks, and you'll still be getting a quality memory card. The Class 10 UHS-I card boasts speeds up to 100 MB/s, and while it's optimized for Android devices, it can also serve your Switch Lite well. Kingston's cards are also especially durable and have been thoroughly tested to make sure they are waterproof, temperature-proof, X-ray-proof, shock- and vibration-proof. Out of over 94,750 average ratings on Amazon, it has an impressive 4.7 out of five user score.
Kingston makes a few different lines of microSD cards, all of which are solid. Not all of them come in sizes as small as 32 GB, however, and none of them come as large as 1 TB — so you'll have to look for another brand if you want to go all out with storage space for your Switch Lite. If you're okay with just having a few games ready to go on a 32 GB card, however, you can find the Kingston 32 GB micro SD card on Amazon for just $6.50 each.
Micro Center 64 GB
Micro Center is famous for its ubiquitous and affordable SD and micro SD cards, and a Micro Center 64 GB micro SD card will certainly help you keep several extra games at the ready for your Nintendo Switch Lite. Out of over 16,350 customer ratings on Amazon, it has a 4.6 out of five user score. While many of those customers are likely satisfied with the product because of its 4K UHD capability and other photo and video storage perks, it's still a good option for storing Switch games. However, you may need to perform a system update to make the card compatible with the handheld console. If you don't want to be bothered with this slight inconvenience, you may want to opt for another brand.
The Micro Center 64 GB micro SD card has a read speed of up to 95 MB/s and a write speed of up to 30 MB/S, and it is waterproof, shockproof, X-ray proof, and temperature proof. It also comes with a limited three-year warranty. Amazon sells a two-pack of the Micro Center 64 GB micro SD card for $14.99, as well as a five-pack and other storage sizes and class variations. A full-size SD adapter is also included if you decide to use one or both cards for other applications.
Licensed Nintendo SanDisk 128 GB
If you're the type of Nintendo fan who loves to deck out their gear in iconography from the brand, you may want to go with the SanDisk 128 GB micro SD card officially licensed by Nintendo (and sold on the Nintendo store.) The red card has a cute, super mushroom from the "Super Mario" franchise printed onto its front, something you won't find from other brands.
128 GB is a decent amount of storage space that will hold around a dozen games on average. Still, there are four other sizes as well — and you may choose them for aesthetic over practical reasons because each size sports different Nintendo trademarks. The 64 GB card is green and has a Yoshi egg, the 256 GB card is yellow and has a Star Man, the 512 GB card is cyan and has an "Animal Crossing" leaf, and the 1 TB card is black and gold with the "Legend of Zelda" triforce emblem emblazoned on its front. Other graphics, including from "Fortnite" and "Apex Legends," have been made, as well.
With these cool looks, it's no wonder the officially licensed SanDisk micro SD cards are so popular on Amazon, with an average user score of 4.8 out of five based on over 302,000 customer ratings. One downside is that they're so popular that they frequently sell out, and you may not always be able to get the particular model you want if you don't act quickly enough. The red SanDisk 128 GB micro SD card with the super mushroom — which has read speeds up to 100 MB/s and write speeds up to 90 MB/s — is currently available for $14.99.
Samsung EVO Select 256 GB
Serious gamers who like to jump from title to title are going to want micro SD cards with larger sizes, like the Samsung EVO Select 256 GB, which can hold around 25 games for the Nintendo Switch Lite (based on the average size of a single game). Besides the increased storage space, the Samsung EVO Select offers fast, class 10-rated transfer speeds of up to 130 MB/s. Like many of Samsung's products, it's also high-quality, with all of its firmware and components produced in-house, including its DRAM and NAND technology.
Out of over 11,800 customer ratings, the Samsung EVO Select 256 GB boasts an impressive 4.7 out of five user score. One drawback is that it's pretty costly compared to other micro SD cards of the same size, so you may want to choose a different option if you're budget-conscious. Amazon sells the Samsung EVO Select 256 GB for $49.99.
SP Silicon Power 1 TB
There are serious gamers, and then there are obsessive completionists, those who like to have an entire library of digital games downloaded and ready to play at a moment's notice. For those true die-hards, many brands offer micro SD cards that can hold an entire terabyte, enough for around 100 titles for the Nintendo Switch Lite. One of those brands is Silicon Power, which sells the Switch-compatible SP Silicon Power 1 TB Micro SD Card.
However, the UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) card is a little slower than some of its competitors, with a read speed up to 80 MB/s and a write speed up to 20 MB/s. It's also a little pricier than other options, though considering how much space it offers, this isn't a surprise. This hasn't stopped the card from getting solid customer reviews on Amazon, which has a 4.5 overall user score based on over 2,850 ratings. The SP Silicon Power 1 TB micro SD card sells for $65.99 on Amazon and comes with a full-size SD Card adapter.
How these Micro SD cards were selected
The micro SD memory cards selected for this list were chosen in part because of their high user scores on Amazon. Amazon isn't the only retailer that sells these products, but because it has so many customers, a large user base allows for many customer reviews to be taken into consideration — the more ratings averaged into the score, the less any outlier scores (either good or bad) given in bad faith will impact it, making it a more reliable metric to go by. With thousands — if not tens or hundreds of thousands — of customer ratings taken into account for these particular products, you can be reasonably sure they are reliable and work as advertised.
A wide range of storage sizes was specifically selected for this list to cater to the broad preferences of the gaming community. Generally, the brands recommended on this list come in other storage sizes as well, and you can expect more or less the same quality for each, regardless of the size. For example, suppose you feel that Kingston is the right brand for you but want more space than 32 GB. In that case, the Kingston 128 GB option will more-or-less offer the same pros and cons as its smaller counterpart and can still be considered one of the best Micro SD memory cards available for your Nintendo Switch Lite.