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UFS 4.0 is the next flash storage specification, but what does it mean for you?
If you've heard about UFS 4.0 but aren't sure what to expect, then you've come to the right place.
Your next flagship smartphone will likely have UFS 4.0, or Universal Flash Storage 4.0. A bigger version number usually means better, but what exactly does that mean for you? Why is UFS 4.0 an improvement over UFS 3.1? What even is UFS?
UFS 4.0 promises significantly faster speeds and improved power efficiency
Samsung Semiconductor has officially announced UFS 4.0, the next iteration of Universal Flash Storage. Read on.
Universal Flash Storage has become hugely popular among Android smartphones. Not too long ago, UFS was only found in flagships and higher-end mid-range phones. But as the technology has become cheaper, it has largely replaced eMMC across budget and affordable mid-range smartphones as the flash storage of choice. UFS 3.1 was announced in 2020 and is the fastest storage solution currently available to Android smartphones. But now it's time for an upgrade.
UFS 3.1 announced with improvements in speed and power efficiency for flash storage chips
JEDEC has announced the UFS 3.1 open standard for flash storage chips. It brings improvements in speed and power efficiency by including new features.
Universal Flash Storage, known as UFS, is the flash storage standard that is used in flagship phones and upper mid-range phones. The Samsung Galaxy S6 was the first phone to use UFS storage in 2015. In the years since, it has slowly been spreading to lower-cost segments of the market, to the point where the newest lower mid-range phones now also have UFS storage. UFS storage is much faster than the eMMC flash storage standard, which is still used in budget phones. In 2019, the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, which is responsible for the development of standards for the microelectronics industry, announced UFS 3.0. While most 2019 flagships opted to stick with the older UFS 2.1 NAND, some phones such as the OnePlus 7 series, the Samsung Galaxy Fold, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 series, and the Realme X2 Pro did opt to use the newer, faster UFS 3.0. Now, JEDEC has announced UFS 3.1, improving the UFS 3.0 standard with speed and power efficiency improvements.
Western Digital announces UFS 3.0 storage drives for high-end smartphones
Western Digital announced a UFS 3.0 Embedded Flash Drive for mid-to-late 2019 flagship phones to offer the latest in high-performance internal storage.
Aside from the Snapdragon 855, 5G, and foldable displays, the fourth-biggest 2019 buzzword in the Android world might well be UFS 3.0. The third generation of Universal Flash Storage specs were released early in 2018, but only in 2019 will we actually see phones with embedded storage that meet such standards. The first phone to be announced with UFS 3.0 storage was the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which will set buyers back about $2,000 for the most bare-bones variant. There were rumors that the Galaxy S10 would feature UFS 3.0, but no mention was made of it in Samsung's official Galaxy S10 spec sheet.
Samsung is now making 1TB UFS chips for mobile devices
Samsung just announced that they started mass producing of 1TB UFS 2.1 chips. It is rumored the Galaxy S10+ will be announced with 1TB internal storage.
Samsung is the largest flash storage manufacturer in the smartphone industry. They supply Universal Flash Storage units for so many OEMs. The company just announced that they started mass producing of 1TB UFS 2.1 chips. Samsung has only gone as far as 512GB on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 model last year. It is also rumored that the Samsung Galaxy S10+ will be announced with 1TB internal storage, which automatically means that it will use UFS 2.1 instead of expected UFS 3.0.