Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) said Tuesday it has developed the industry's first Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 5.0, a mobile NAND flash semiconductor device optimized for on-device artificial intelligence (AI) models. Samsung plans to begin mass production of UFS 5.0 in the fourth quarter of this year and install it in next-generation smartphones, extended reality (XR) headsets, and AI wearable devices.
UFS is a NAND-based data storage device used in mobile devices, including smartphones. The new UFS 5.0 goes beyond simple data storage by significantly increasing data speed compared to its predecessor, supporting the rapid implementation of on-device AI models and functions in the latest smartphones. In this approach, UFS 5.0 quickly transfers stored data to DRAM, allowing the application processor (AP), the brain chip, to perform AI computations.
UFS 5.0 was developed based on advanced 9th-generation V-NAND (V9), raising the data transfer bandwidth to an industry-best 10.8GB (gigabytes) per second. This is more than twice the speed of the previous UFS 4.1. Its size is also 7.5mm wide, 13mm long, and 0.9mm high, 16.7% smaller than its predecessor, allowing more capacity to be installed in mobile devices. Samsung plans to offer capacities of up to 1TB.
UFS 5.0 also improved power efficiency by more than 40% over the previous generation. This was achieved by applying new technologies such as "clock gating," which improves power efficiency by blocking operation signals from unused circuits, and "multi-voltage," which reduces power consumption and heat by applying optimal voltage to each circuit.
"In the on-device AI era, storage devices are establishing themselves as a key factor determining the AI experience, beyond being simple data storage space," said Choi Jang-seok, head of the product planning team at Samsung Electronics' Memory Business Division. "Through completing development of the industry's first UFS 5.0, Samsung will present a new standard for next-generation mobile storage and continue to lead AI mobile innovation."
