SanDisk's new 256GB microSD card isn't the first of its kind, but it is, says parent company Western Digital, the fastest. The card has transfer speeds of up to 100MB/s and write speeds of 90MB/s — quick enough to transfer an entire HD movie in around 45 seconds. You'll need that sort of performance though if you're using the card for its intended purpose: recording and storing up to 14 hours of 4K footage from smartphones, action cameras, or drones.
The 256GB SanDisk Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card is only slightly faster than Samsung's own $249.99 256GB microSD card, but Western Digital also unveiled a slower cousin intended for a wider audience — the 256GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition. (Yes, those are some terrible, confusing names.) Both cards are waterproof, temperature-proof, shock proof, and X-ray proof, but the Premium Edition has slightly slower transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s (the company doesn't mention write speeds).
The Extreme microSD card will be available to buy for $199.99 from the fourth quarter of 2016, while the Premium Edition will go for $149.99 from August this year.