Lexar, a leading global brand of memory solutions, is proud to announce the development of SD Express memory cards. Lexar SD Express memory cards will leverage the PCI Express® (PCIe®) 4.0 specification delivering a maximum data transfer rate of nearly four gigabytes per second (GB/s). Able to transfer data up three times faster than the fastest UHS-II SD card available today (**), SD Express has a theoretical max read speed of up to 985MB/s. These cards also use the NVMe Express™ (NVMe™) protocol and are backwards compatible.

Lexar SD Express memory cards are made to meet the increasing demands of users for moving large amounts of data including 8K video capture and playback, RAW continuous burst mode, 360 degree cameras and videos, and more data intense applications and workloads. Lexar will feature two technologies, SD Express microSD Express memory cards. SD Express will become available in capacity options up to 512GB, and microSD Express with capacity options to 256GB. Lexar SD Express and microSD Express memory cards will feature speeds of up to 824MB/s Read, and 410MB/s1 Write, respectfully. Lexar is currently working with manufacturers of relevant host devices as part of its early development and plans to launch in 2022.

“We are excited to announce the SD Express memory cards, which use the PCle 3.0 interface, marking the innovation in memory card technology. In the future, we will be able to use Lexar SD Express memory cards in many data-intense applications including videography, photography, 360 degree applications and automobile storage. This will bring users to a higher-performance experience,” says Jordan Zhong, Vice President of Lexar.

Lexar SD Express memory cards will be built with the Silicon Motion’s SM 2708 controller. “Many of the latest high-end cameras and mobile phones are capable of recording video in 8K and require a fast transfer rate. With the SM2708 controller now supporting the SD 8.0 specification which offers more than triple the throughput, applications such as 8K video capture, RAW photo capture, multi-channel IOT devices, multi-processing automotive storage and other applications requiring ultra-high data speeds are now possible,” says Nelson Duann, Silicon Motion’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and R&D.

1 Speeds based on internal testing in Lexar Quality Labs. Actual performance may vary due to changes in equipment or environment.