Samsung Develops UFS 4.0 Storage for Future 5G Phones, Foldables

Samsung has announced the development of Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 4.0 as its next-generation storage solution — the successor to the existing UFS 3.1 — to deliver a faster experience on mobile devices. The new solution is built on Samsung's seventh-generation V-NAND and uses a proprietary controller to deliver a sequential read speed of up to 4,200MB per second and a sequential write speed of up to 2,800MB per second. The UFS 4.0 storage solution is expected to be available on next-generation 5G phones and foldables. Separately, Samsung has brought its Pro Endurance microSD card that is specifically designed for surveillance cameras, dashboard cameras, doorbell cameras, and body cameras.

As revealed by the Samsung Semiconductor division on Twitter, the UFS 4.0 solution has received JEDEC board of director's approval and is set to go on mass production in the third quarter of the year.

UFS 4.0 comes in a compact package that has a maximum dimension of 11x13x1mm and will come in a variety of storage capacities ranging up to 1TB, the company said. The small footprint could be helpful especially in case of building new foldables.

The new storage solution is also claimed to deliver a sequential read speed of 6MB per second (per mA). This brings a 46 percent improvement over the previous generation and helps enable more power efficiency, the company claimed.

Samsung claimed that UFS 4.0 delivers a speed of up to 23.2Gbps per lane, which is double that of the previous UFS 3.1. It is also touted to be the perfect bandwidth for 5G phones that have high data processing requirements.

In addition to smartphones, the UFS 4.0 storage solution is projected to be available in future automotive applications as well as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices.

Samsung is expected to offer UFS 4.0 in its next-generation Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip foldables. The phones are rumoured to be in the works and may debut as the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4. The Galaxy S-series flagships next year are also likely to come with UFS 4.0 storage.

Alongside the new storage solution for mobile devices, Samsung has announced its Pro Endurance microSD card series that comes in a storage range between 32GB and 256GB. It is built on the NAND flash memory that helps deliver up to 16 years (140,160 hours) of continuous recording time, according to the company.

Samsung Pro Endurance microSD card is available in storage sizes ranging from 32GB to 256GB
Photo Credit: Samsung

The South Korean giant also claimed that a single Pro Endurance card can last as long as up to 33 typical speed-focussed cards — including the Samsung EVO Plus card of the same capacity.

In terms of speed, the new microSD card is touted to offer read and write speeds of up to 100MB per second and 40MB per second, respectively. It is also rated Class 10, with video speed ratings of up to UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) and Video Speed Class 30 (V30). All this makes it ideal for storing full-HD and 4K videos.

On the endurance side, the Pro Endurance comes with Samsung's six-[roof durability, which means that it is protected against water, magnets, X-rays, and extreme temperatures — as well as wearout-proof and drop-proof. The company has, however, written in its fine print that it is "not liable for any i) damages and/or loss of data or ii) expenses incurred from memory card data recovery."

The Samsung Pro Endurance is available in four different storage capacities — 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, with prices starting from $10.99 (roughly Rs. 800) for the 32GB model and going up to $54.99 (roughly Rs. 4,200) for the 256GB option. It is available for purchase in markets worldwide.