Nintendo Switch has 25.9 GB available memory, OS is 4GB

A gamer recently bought a Nintendo Switch early and showed off the system's startup screens, revealing that the console-handheld hybrid only has approximately 25.9 GB of the advertised 32GB of onboard memory will be available for games, downloads, and screenshots.

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The Nintendo Switch is supposed to come with 32GB of flash storage. However, as any tecchie will tell you, the advertised memory isn't what you actually get (and here's why).

Given that a 32GB flash drive will only actually have about 29.8 GB of usable space, we can assess the Nintendo Switch's customized operating system takes up about 4GB of space by default, leaving about ~26GB left over for gamers to use (29.8GB - 25.9GB = 3.9GB).

To give you an idea of how much space this actually is let's say you plan to install Zelda: Breath of the Wild digitally on the Switch, which clocks in at 13.4GB. After installing that one game you'd have 12.5GB left over for other games--but fear not, Nintendo Switch games are rather minute!

The purpose of this coverage was to give you a better idea of what to expect from your console, especially if you plan to go digital and don't yet have an Micro SD card.

Read Also: Nintendo Switch may use 4GB LPDDR4 1600MHz RAM

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The Nintendo Switch supports up to 2TB Micro SDXC cards, however 1TB SDXC cards don't yet exist, and when they do they'll be rather expensive (in the $200+ price range).

But there's no reason to pay that much: you can get a high-speed 200GB SanDisk Micro SDXC card for $70, or even stick with a 64GB SanDisk Micro SDXC card for $15 that's almost just as fast.

To give you an even clearer picture on what to expect from the Nintendo Switch's digital install sizes, check below for a list of confirmed game sizes:

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 13.4 GB
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - 7 GB
• Snipperclips: Cut it Out, Together! - 1.60 GB
• Disgaea 5 - 5.92 GB
• Puyo Puyo Tetris - 1.09 GB
• I Am Setsuna - 1.40 GB
• Dragon Quest Heroes I·II - 32 GB
• Nobunaga's Ambition - 5 GB

Remember that if you go physical you won't need to install your games onto the Switch, so you'll have 25.9GB to load up with screenshots and other content--and, eventually, video footage.

The Nintendo Switch launches on March 3, 2017 for $299. Check below for a massive catalog of everything we know about the console so far:

Everything we know about the Nintendo Switch:

• Nintendo Switch supports wireless Bluetooth headsets
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild has $20 season pass
• Nintendo Switch uses 20nm Maxwell Tegra SoC
• Nintendo Switch easy for devs, light years past Wii U
• Hitman dev may be working on new IP for Nintendo Switch
• Nintendo Switch could get Wii U game remasters
• 3DS supported alongside Switch 'for the time being'
• Devs can 'easily' port PC games to the Nintendo Switch
• Nintendo Switch JoyCons have 525mAh lithium ion battery
• Nintendo Switch is the gamer's dream, says Hideo Kojima
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild is about doing things your way
• Nintendo Switch has over 100 games in development
• Nintendo Switch paid online service only costs $26 a year
• Nintendo Switch appeals to Japanese smartphone gamers
• New Zelda is based on three words 'climb, live, protect'
• EA: Nintendo listening to third-party Switch game devs
• First footage of Nintendo Switch's touchscreen in action
• Nintendo Switch games lineup: a visual guide
• Nintendo Switch replaces Wii U on Nintendo homesite
• Nintendo Switch battery life analysis
• Resident Evil 7 isn't coming to Nintendo Switch
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Hyrule is bigger than Skyrim
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild has an awesome physics engine
• Switch's 4310mAh battery takes 3 hours to fully recharge
• Could the Nintendo Switch's hit full potential and boost CPU/GPU power via NVIDIA's cloud servers
• Nintendo Switch will have 'steady pacing of content'
• Switch is all about 'playing games anywhere with anyone'
• Nintendo Switch will have 'steady pacing of content'
• Putting Nintendo Switch launch games into perspective
• Stock Nintendo Switch JoyConGrip won't recharge JoyCons
• The new Zelda game takes up nearly half Switch's storage
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild runs at 900p 30FPS docked, 720p 30FPS undocked
• Nintendo Switch supports 2TB Micro SDXC cards
• Nintendo Switch online chat requires smartphone app
• Here's why Nintendo Switch doesn't come with any games
• Nintendo will soon charging gamers to play online multiplayer via subscription service
• Nintendo Switch UI revealed, let's take a closer look
• Nintendo Switch touchscreen has haptic feedback tech
• Nintendo stock drops after Switch unveil event
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch runs at 1080p when docked
• Nintendo Switch hardware specs revealed
• Nintendo Switch costs $299, coming March 3
• Nintendo Switch battery life is 2.5 hours to 6 hours
• New Mario: Odyssey game won't be Nintendo Switch launch title
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Switch launch game