Samsung Develops 256GB Flash Storage Chips For Mobile Devices

Samsung is working on 256GB flash memory chips for smartphones, providing a significant boost over the current maximum, thanks to a breakthrough using the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 2.0 standard.

Samsung says that the new chips will be able to store larger content like 4K movies, support UltraHD displays, and also transfer them faster thanks to the USB 3.0 interface.

Boosted

Through an overhauled design process, Samsung says that the chips (pictured left) are smaller than an external micro SD card, allowing smartphone designers greater flexibility in creating new devices.

The increased capacity is also good news for virtual reality fans. VR content is expected to consume a lot of storage and with Samsung preparing for a major VR push this year, the advance is timely.

“By providing high-density UFS memory that is nearly twice as fast as a SATA SSD for PCs, we will contribute to a paradigm shift within the mobile data storage market,” said Joo Sun Choi, Samsung’s executive vice president of memory sales and marketing.

“We are determined to push the competitive edge in premium storage line-ups – OEM NVMe SSDs, external SSDs, and UFS – by moving aggressively to enhance performance and capacity in all three markets.”

The company only announced its 128GB storage using UFS last February, and should be placing the new chips in forthcoming devices later this year, with the next generation of Samsung’s Galaxy Note phablet probably the most likely candidate.

However the launch comes too late for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, as Samsung’s most recent flagship smartphones only come with a choice of either 32GB or 64GB storage, although both can be boosted by an extra 200GB using a microSD card.

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