Samsung Electronics recently announced that it started mass producing its one terabyte (1TB) embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) module for mobile devices. This storage solution is still based on the UFS 2.1 standard and not on the newer UFS 3.0 protocol. To illustrate the amount of storage offered by the company’s 1TB UFS 2.1 internal memory, Samsung noted that it allows users to store as much as 260 10-minute videos in 4K resolution, while 64GB of storage currently incorporated in many smartphones can only keep up to 13 videos of similar length and resolution. Despite the increase in storage capacity, the company’s newest eUFS solution still maintains the same physical size compared to the company’s existing 512GB module, measured at 11.5 millimeters by 13.0 millimeters.
Aside from the increased storage offered by the new eUFS solution, this product also provides higher data transfer speeds compared to older storage solutions released by Samsung. The 1TB storage module can achieve maximum sequential read speeds of up to 1000 megabytes per second, which is roughly twice the speed of SATA solid-state drives used in laptops and desktop computers and around 10 times faster than the data transfer rates attained by microSD cards. Samsung also enhanced the random write and read speeds of its newest storage product, which allows users to fully take advantage of video recording and continuous image capture at frame rates of up to 960 fps. Furthermore, these improved speeds provided by the 1TB eUFS solution from Samsung should suffice for the more intensive storage needs of smartphones with multiple rear and front cameras.
Background: It is highly likely that Samsung may incorporate its 1TB eUFS solution into its first 5G-capable flagship smartphone offering, which the South Korean tech giant may brand as the Samsung Galaxy S10 X. Earlier rumors repeatedly claim that the device will ship with 1TB of internal flash storage, along with 12GB of RAM. This storage solution will allow Samsung to offer increased storage capacity with the device. Interestingly, the tech firm only started producing the eUFS module recently, and it may have contributed to Samsung’s decision to commence the mass production of Samsung’s 5G flagship later compared to LTE-only variants of the Galaxy S10.
Earlier reports mention that the Galaxy S10 devices will feature UFS 3.0 storage, which could have allowed the smartphones to offer maximum data speeds of up to 23.2Gbps. This data transfer rate is substantially higher than the speeds offered by Samsung’s new 1TB storage solution, and recent reports noted that the lowest UFS 3.0 storage capacity that the South Korean tech giant currently offers is 128GB. It is still possible that the LTE-only models of the Galaxy S10 may feature UFS 3.0 modules, while Samsung opted to use UFS 2.1 protocol for the 5G variant of its upcoming flagship offering due to the availability of larger capacity modules.
Impact: Aside from providing users with more space to store their files and videos, the storage solutions incorporated into the handsets affect the performance of the device. Faster storage allows for faster loading of files and applications, which manifests as speedier handset performance. If Samsung decides to include this storage solution into its 5G smartphone offering, interested consumers may now gain an idea on the level of performance that the device may offer to its buyers.