Nextorage G Series MicroSD (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
A microSD is your ticket to extra storage; these tiny devices are the perfect companion to any portable device, whether it's a Steam Deck, a Nintendo Switch, a music player. your phone--just about anything. Storage prices aren't what they used to be, and what seemed like unattainable amounts of GBs on a little microSD card can be gotten for fairly cheap these days. Given how much data you're putting on one of these cards, you want it to be fast and reliable, so, does manufacturer Nextorage have both of those aspects?
Coming in at 512GB, though also available in 256GB and 128GB forms, the Nextorage G Series microSD is a V30 C10 U3 speed card. Once formatted, you have access to 477GB of data. Nextorage claims you get about 100MB/s/90MB/s read and write speed, respectively, which puts itself ahead of the ever-popular SanDisk Ultra, but trailing behind the similarly-priced Samsung Pro Plus.
In testing, CrystalDiskMark showed that the claims are almost exactly on the money. These speeds won't blow you away, but when you're initially setting up the card and transferring data from it, or consolidating your files later down the line, the speed will prove itself crucial in preventing annoyance. Lately, I've been utilizing an ill-fated Silicon Power microSD--a card that retails for $29.99, compared to the cost of the Nextorage's $49.99. Hunting for a deal is important, but reliability and capable speeds are worth paying more for, which is exactly what you get with the Nextorage microSD. As much as everyone advises against using exFAT on the Nintendo Switch, the Nextorage never once faltered, whereas I've gone through many microSDs that fell to corruption time and time again.
With the given speeds, the G Series card is usable in just about any activity, whether its for running AAA games off of the Steam Deck, recording 4K video with a drone, or just playing some casual emulators on your phone (assuming it still has a microSD slot). In terms of loading times in-game, you're really splitting hairs when comparing other microSDs. The speeds you do get here are perfectly solid.
Nextorage might not be a brand you hear as often as something like Sandisk, but they've got a fairly impressive pedigree, having been formed by former Sony employees, and then becoming part of Phison--one of the biggest and most well-known flash memory manufacturers.
If you're looking for a new brand of microSD to update to, Nextorage's offering is a good option. It outperforms quite a few of its competitors, if only by a little, but it also is barely outclassed by a Samsung card that is priced exactly the same. Hopefully, once Nextorage establishes itself more in the west, we can see their rather new S Series Micro SD go on sale, and if it ever does, it's an incredibly appealing option.
Verdict
- Solid performance
- Runs cool
- Limited availability in western markets
- Mediocre pricing
