Compatible device required. Full HD (1920x1080) and 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) support may vary based upon host device, file attributes and other factors. See www.sandisk.com/HD

SanDisk Extreme® PRO microSDXC™ UHS-I CARD, Best Micro SD SanDisk Extreme® PRO microSDXC™ UHS-I CARD, Best Micro SD

One final thing we need to make clear is that speeds will depend on your microSD card reader. The reader built into your average laptop might not be capable of reading from or writing to the fastest cards at their full speed, and we’ve found huge variations in external readers, even those bundled with high-performance cards. If you’re investing in one of the faster microSD cards, grab the matching adaptor from the same manufacturer, or from a credible manufacturer like Lexar, SanDisk, Kingston or Integral. That goes double for UHS-II cards. What if I’m buying for an action camera or dashcam? The latest UHS-III standard is faster still, with speeds of up to 624MB/sec in both directions simultaneously, while the SD Express standard takes this up to a staggering 985MB/sec. However, neither standard seems to have taken off yet, either in terms of cards or the readers and devices to support them. Should I always buy the fastest card I can afford? What’s more, this card comes into its own on random read/write speed tests. Here, we saw the fastest performance we’ve seen from a microSD card, reaching speeds of over 12MB/sec. Other cards from Lexar, Kingston and Samsung are catching up, but this is still the speed king for app and game performance. Given that it’s only slightly more expensive than the basic Ultima Pro, that makes it one of the top options for smartphone or Switch use.

Thank you!

Sometimes speed is what you need. The SanDisk Extreme PRO SD UHS-I card delivers the performance to capture stunning, uninterrupted 4K UHD video 1. Rated UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) and Video Speed Class 30 (V30) 2, the SanDisk Extreme PRO SD UHS-I card lets you capture sequential burst mode shots without missing a beat. On the face of it, the SanDisk Extreme Pro seems overpriced. This U3, V30, UHS-I card is significantly more expensive than the Samsung and Integral competition at most capacities, and when tested on our SanDisk ImageMate Pro card reader it wasn’t any faster, at least on sequential read and write speeds, which were 96MB/sec and 85.4MB/sec respectively.

SanDisk Extreme PRO 32GB UHS-I/U3 Micro SDHC With 4K Ultra HD SanDisk Extreme PRO 32GB UHS-I/U3 Micro SDHC With 4K Ultra HD

Despite being rated faster than the Lexar 1000x, the Lexar Professional 1066x actually uses the slower UHS-I interface. This turns out not to be a big deal, though, as we still measured sequential read speeds of up to 157MB/sec and write speeds of 80MB/sec on our 64GB sample, with the faster 128GB to 512GB versions capable of over 120MB/sec. Get faster app performance for an outstanding smartphone experience thanks to the SanDisk Extreme PRO microSD card’s A2 5 Specification. For 64GB-1TB ONLY: A2 performance is 4000 read IOPS, 2000 write IOPS. For 32GB: A1 performance is 1500 read IOPS, 500 write IOPS. Results may vary based on host device, app type and other factors. UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) designates a performance option designed to support real-time video recording with UHS-enabled host devices. Video Speed Class 30 (V30), sustained video capture rate of 30MB/s, designates a performance option designed to support real-time video recording with UHS-enabled host devices. See www.sdcard.org/consumers/speed.We test microSD cards in a high-speed USB microSD card reader, connected to a laptop via a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A connection. We use a combination of the CrystalDiskMark and AS-SSD benchmarks to test both sequential read and write speeds and random read/write speeds. For 256GB-1TB: Up to 200MB/s read speeds, engineered with proprietary technology to reach speeds beyond UHS-I 104MB/s, require compatible devices capable of reaching such speeds. Up to 140MB/s write speeds. For 64GB-128GB: Up to 200MB/s read speeds, engineered with proprietary technology to reach speeds beyond UHS-I 104MB/s, require compatible devices capable of reaching such speeds. Up to 90MB/s write speeds. For 32GB: Up to 100MB/s read speeds; up to 90MB/s write speeds. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device interface, usage conditions and other factors. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes.

SanDisk Extreme PRO 32GB SDHC Memory Card up to 300MB/s, UHS

On top of this, most cards now have a “V” (for video) rating, going from V6 all the way to V90, indicating write speeds of 6MB/sec to 90MB/sec. You need a V30 card to shoot 4K video at speeds of 60 to 120 frames per second, while V60 is the base level for shooting 8K video at 60fps. V90 is theoretically capable of handling 8K video at up to 120fps. However, given that only a handful of professional-grade cameras can offer that, and that they tend to use the larger CFexpress 2.0 cards for storage, this isn’t what you might call a must-have. Sequential speeds matter most for copying large files and sustained data transfers, as they do when streaming 4K video to a phone or tablet, or recording 4K video from an action cam. Random read/write speeds are more important if you’re running apps or games from a microSD card installed in a smartphone or handheld gaming device. With the right card reader, the Professional High-Speed version of the Ultima Pro can be a serious speed demon. With Integral’s own high-speed card reader, we were disappointed with its 99MB/sec and 88MB/sec sequential read/write speeds, but in a third-party high-speed reader, we saw read performance leap to 173MB/sec, with sequential write speeds of 139MB/sec. That write speed is the fastest we’ve seen from a UHS-I card. For my first test of the 64GB SanDisk Extreme PRO 300MB/s SDXC UHS-II, I popped it into the 45.7MP Nikon Z 7II and set the camera to shoot at its fastest rate (10fps) with the focusing set to manual to rule out any focusing delays. When the camera was set to record 14-bit uncompressed raw files I was able to capture 38 images in a continuous sequence - putting it on par with the PNY X-Pro 90 SDXC UHS-II card and ahead of the Manfrotto Professional SDXC UHS-II card. As a result, those hunting for the perfect balance of price and performance don’t need to look any further, and spending just a little more will get you your card bundled with Samsung’s excellent 160MB/sec USB card reader. What more could you want?The best microSD cards to buy in 2023 1. Integral Ultima Pro Premium High Speed: Best-value microSD card at higher capacities Switching to record Fine* Jpegs boosted the burst depth significantly to 65 images, but that’s someway behind what was possible with the Lexar Professional 2000x SDHC/SDXC UHS-II, Kingston Canvas React Plus SDHC/SDXC UHS-II and PNY X-Pro 90 SDXC UHS-II cards. Shooting Fine-quality Jpegs increases the burst depth again, but at 78, it’s still behind the other cards I’ve tested recently, only beating the Manfrotto Professional SDXC UHS-II card. I’ve tested the 300MB/s version which is available with capacities of 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. The 32GB card is an SDHC device, whereas the 64GB and 128GB cards are SDXC devices. Often, fast sequential speeds come at the expense of random read/write speeds, but the A2-class 1066x is an exception; it’s not as speedy as the Integral Ultima Pro Professional High-Speed card below, but it’s faster than the SanDisk Extreme Pro and Samsung Evo Plus on this count, making it a fine all-round performer. If you’re looking for a card that can run apps or cover video on your mid-range or high-end smartphone, you won’t get much better than this.