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Do You Need A Memory Card For Nintendo Switch Lite? (Does It Have An SD Slot?)

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If you have ever seen someone play with a Nintendo Switch you probably know how much fun they are to play as well as how useful they can be! Even though some people do not like Nintendo as a company there is no denying that the Nintendo Switch is a great device that is loved by many people. 

If you have recently gone to purchase a Nintendo Switch you probably realized that you now have an option called the Nintendo Switch Lite. Although the Nintendo Switch Lite is a more mobile lighter version than the original Nintendo Switch there are many questions about it that people have.

One of the most popular questions regarding the Nintendo Switch Lite is if it requires an SD card. 

Although a Nintendo Switch Lite does have an SD card slot where you can add removable storage, it does not require one as it has 32 GB of memory built-in. This SD card slot comes in very handy if you want to download a bunch of games at the same time to play on your Switch Lite. With the 32GB of internal storage though, some people never even use an SD card. 

Although you don’t have to have an SD card for your Switch Lite if you plan on downloading more than a couple of games onto the console you will want to get an SD card to increase your storage space as the internal memory isn’t enough for more than downloading a few games.

SD cards for your Switch Lite console can be purchased relatively cheaply (from a variety of brands like Sandisk, SDXC, etc.) and all you have to do is slide them into your console (the SD slot is behind the kickstand) and you are ready to start downloading games right onto the SD card.

By adding an SD card to your Switch you will have enough storage where you don’t have to carry physical copies of games with you everywhere that you go. Instead, you can just download the digital games so you will have so much storage that you can now use.

With the Switch Lite, you don’t have to format the microSD card when you place it into the SD slot or anything like that either. All you have to do is push the SD card into its slot and it will be ready to download games or be used to save games.

As with the original Switch, the gameplay experience won’t be degraded when playing a game that has been downloaded onto your Switch Lite SD card assuming the speed class of your micro SD card is high enough (no major brands will have issues with this). You also don’t need to pay extra for a higher transfer speed either.

I personally purchased one of the cheapest SD cards on Amazon for my Switch which was a reputable brand and had good reviews. After many hours testing and downloading games, it has been just as fast downloading and playing those downloaded games as it has been playing games from the actual game cartridge.

Depending upon how many games you have downloaded on your Switch Lite or if you prefer to use Nintendo Switch cartridges to play your games will depend upon if you need an SD card in your system or not. Even if you do need an SD card for your Switch Lite system they are not that expensive and you can find them for a good price by clicking here

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Does The Switch Lite Have An SD Card Slot?

If you are looking to buy a Switch Lite you might be wondering if it comes with an SD card slot. Well if that is your question then you are in luck.

The Nintendo Switch Lite does have an SD card slot. You can find the SD card slot on the Switch Lite under the kickstand.

Just pull up the kickstand on the back of your Switch Lite and you will find the slot for your SD card. You will then push the Sd card down into your slot until it clicks into place. And that is it!

You don’t have to do anything else beyond sliding the SD card into the slot.

If you need to remove the SD card from the slot (for whatever reason) all you have to do is push down on the SD card (to unclick it from the slot) and it will then come up and out of the slot.

Does A New Switch Lite Come With An SD Card?

If you are considering purchasing a brand-new Nintendo Switch Lite you are probably wondering what you need to know about the system. Although there are a lot of things you should know about the Nintendo Switch Lite, one question you probably have is does it come with an SD card?

After all, if you’re spending $200 on a brand-new gaming system it should come with a $10 SD card right? 

The Nintendo Switch Lite does not come with an SD card in the box. Unfortunately, you have to purchase the SD card for your Nintendo Switch Lite separately.

Even though the Nintendo Switch Lite does not come with an SD card in the box, this allows you to choose the right size of SD card that you want to use for your system. I would recommend buying a minimum SD card size of 64GB but if you plan on downloading any games in the future it isn’t much more expensive to buy a 128Gb or 256GB SD card.

The Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED do not come with an SD card when you purchase them. The miniSD cards are all sold separately for all of these consoles. This allows you to choose the Nintendo Switch SD card that works best for you and your situation (and saves Nintendo some money in the process).

The best thing is that these SD cards are not expensive, and you can find them by clicking here.

How Big Of An SD Card Does The Switch Lite Need?

Depending upon how many games you want to have downloaded on your Nintendo Switch Lite instead of using cartridges, will help you know how big of an SD card you will need. On top of the number of games that you will have downloaded, you also need to look at the types of games that you want to download.

While some games are only half of a GB of storage, other games such as Fortnight take up 4GB of memory. So how big of an SD card will I need?

If you only plan on downloading a few games onto your Switch Lite, you will probably not need an SD card bigger than 64GB. If you plan on having all of your games on your device though because you do not want to ever carry a game cartridge, you should get either a 256GB or a 512GB SD card. 

Although you may not use all of the 512GB on your SD card, these SD cards are normally only a few dollars more than the 256GB ones. The other positive to having an SD card this big is the fact that no matter how long you own the Switch Lite, you will not have to worry about needing to upgrade the storage or run out of storage. 

Truthfully you do not ever NEED to add an SD card to your Switch Lite as it can do a system update and play all the best Nintendo Switch games directly from the cartridges (Like Mario Kart, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, etc.) just with the built-in system memory.

Is It Better To Buy Physical Switch Games Or Digital?

This is a very popular question as many people want to know what they should purchase, and what is the best way to use your Switch. As we know, the Switch Lite is extremely light and is designed to be used on the go all the time.

Unlike the original Nintendo Switch which could be used on the go or at your house hooked to the tv, the Switch Lite is only for handheld use. 

If you are always carrying around your Switch Lite with you, should you buy physical games or digital ones? The answer to this question depends on which you prefer and if you care about carrying cartridges with you, or how much you pay for the games. The reason this is such a big deal is the fact that if you want to use digital games you will have to pay full price for the game and not be able to buy used ones like you can when you buy game cartridges. 

If you are wanting to buy cheap games, then you will want to go with using cartridges as you can normally buy them at a fraction of the cost of new ones. You can normally find these games online, or at thrift stores and they work the same as downloaded games.

The only downside is the fact that if you purchase used games, then you will want to purchase a carrying case for your Switch Lite. 

For me personally, buying physical Switch games is better than digital ones. This is because I prefer to buy used games for a fraction of the price. Although I would need to buy a case for my Switch Lite, they are not that expensive, and they also would keep my Switch Lite safe from drops and water.

If you prefer to never carry games, and you do not care how much the games cost, then it would be better for you to buy digital games as having the flexibility to not ever have to carry or change a cartridge in your system is a huge bonus.

Conclusion

Now that you know that the Nintendo Switch Lite does not require an SD card to work, you can begin playing games the moment you buy it at the store. Although if you plan on downloading a bunch of games, you may want to purchase a 512GB SD card for the system.

This will give you plenty of memory to download any digital games that you want. 

You also know that even though you spend quite a bit of money on a Switch Lite, it does not come with an SD card. The good news is that the system does come with 32GB of built-in storage, so you can download games and play games as soon as you get your Switch Lite out of the box. 

No matter if you buy the Switch Lite to use with cartridges, or with digital games, it is always a good idea to purchase a case for your Switch Lite. This will make sure that your gaming system does not get damaged if it is dropped as well a good way to carry your cartridges with you when you are carrying your Switch Lite.

If you are looking to purchase a case for your Switch Lite, you can find one by clicking here