SK hynix announced on the 22nd that it has developed a mobile solution product, UFS 4.1, featuring the world's highest 321-layer 1Tb (terabit) TLC 4D NAND flash.
SK hynix noted, "To reliably implement on-device AI in mobile environments, the NAND solution products must also possess a balanced combination of high performance and low power characteristics," adding, "We will lead memory leadership in the flagship smartphone market with products optimized for AI workloads based on UFS 4.1."
As the demand for on-device AI increases, balancing operational performance and battery efficiency of devices is becoming crucial, while the thin profile and low power characteristics of mobile devices have established themselves as industry standards.
SK hynix improved the power efficiency of this product by 7% compared to the previous generation of 238-layer NAND flash products. The thickness of the product was also reduced from 1mm to 0.85mm to enable its use in ultra-thin smartphones.
This product supports a maximum sequential read performance of 4300MB/s, the data transfer speed of UFS 4th generation products. The random read and write speeds, which influence the multitasking capability of mobile devices, have improved by 15% and 40% respectively compared to the previous generation, achieving the highest performance in existing UFS 4.1 products, according to SK hynix.
As a result, it is expected to contribute to providing the data necessary for the implementation of on-device AI without delays, enhancing app execution speed and responsiveness, and improving the performance experienced by users.
SK hynix plans to provide this product, developed in two capacity versions of 512GB (gigabytes) and 1TB (terabytes), to client companies within the year for certification and to begin full-scale mass production from the first quarter of next year.
Ahn Hyun, Chief Development Officer (CDO) of SK hynix, said, "With this product launch as a starting point, we plan to complete the development of consumer and data center SSD products based on the world's highest 321-layer 4D NAND this year," adding, "Through this, we will solidify our position as a 'full-stack AI memory provider' by establishing a product portfolio with competitive AI technology in the NAND institutional sector."