SanDisk 2TB Extreme Pro SD Card Debuts at $2,000

SanDisk has introduced a 2TB version of its Extreme Pro UHS-II SD card, priced at $1,999.99 on Amazon. This high-capacity memory card is designed for professional photographers and videographers, specifically those capturing 8K footage or utilizing high-resolution burst photography.

According to reporting from Tom’s Hardware, the UHS-II card provides sequential read performance of up to 310 MB/s and sequential write performance of up to 305 MB/s.

Performance and Pricing Tiers

The $1,999.99 price point represents a significant increase in cost compared to other high-capacity options in the SanDisk lineup. The 2TB Extreme Pro UHS-II card is more than four times as expensive as the lower-tier 2TB Extreme Pro UHS-I SD card, which is available for less than $500.

While the UHS-I version is more affordable, it offers lower performance. On October 25, 2024, SanDisk expanded the Extreme Pro UHS-I range to include a 2TB capacity, which previously topped out at 1TB. That model claims read speeds of up to 250MB/s and write speeds of up to 150MB/s when paired with the SanDisk QuickFlow SD UHS-I Card USB-A Reader.

The UHS-II card provides higher sequential read performance and more than double the sequential write performance of the UHS-I counterpart.

Industry Standards and Value

The high cost of the UHS-II card is partly attributed to the current state of the storage industry and the limitations of hardware standards. While microSD Express cards offer superior performance through the use of PCIe and NVMe technology, most digital cameras continue to rely on the older SD standard.

This reliance on the SD standard means users cannot access the higher speeds provided by newer standards, even though the 2TB SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II is more expensive on a per-gigabyte basis than some newer alternatives.

For comparison, a 512GB SanDisk microSD Express card costs $119.99, which equals approximately $0.23 per GB.

Technical Specifications Summary

• SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II (2TB): Up to 310 MB/s sequential read, 305 MB/s sequential write. priced at $1,999.99.
• SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-I (2TB): Up to 250 MB/s sequential read, 150 MB/s sequential write (with QuickFlow reader); priced under $500.
• Target Use Cases: 8K video recording and high-resolution burst photography.