SK Hynix Develops UFS 4.1 Solution Based on World's Tallest 321-Layer NAND

Boasting World's Best Sequential Read Performance and Low Power Consumption
Thickness Reduced by 15%... Suitable for Ultra-Slim Smartphones

On May 22, SK Hynix announced that it has developed a mobile solution product, 'UFS 4.1', equipped with the world's highest 321-layer 1Tb (terabit) TLC 4D NAND flash.

SK Hynix's newly developed mobile solution product 'UFS 4.1'. Photo by SK Hynix

This product has improved power efficiency by 7% compared to the previous generation based on 238-layer NAND flash. Its thickness has also been reduced from 1mm to 0.85mm, making it suitable for ultra-slim smartphones.

The data transfer speed supports up to 4,300MB per second. This is the maximum speed at which a fourth-generation UFS product can sequentially read and write a single file. The speed of 'random read and write' (the process of reading and writing data from multiple dispersed files), which determines the multitasking capability of mobile devices, has also increased by 15% and 40% respectively compared to the previous generation.

SK Hynix stated, "To reliably implement on-device artificial intelligence (AI) in mobile devices, the embedded NAND solution must also offer both high performance and low power consumption," adding, "Through UFS 4.1-based products optimized for AI workloads, we will continue to lead memory technology in the flagship smartphone market." A workload refers to the type and amount of tasks that must be processed within a given time. In AI, workloads are heavy because large volumes of data must be processed and database-related operations must run smoothly.

Recently, as demand for on-device AI has increased, balancing computing performance and battery efficiency in devices has become increasingly important. As a result, the slim thickness and low-power characteristics of mobile devices have become industry standards.

SK Hynix developed and released this product in response to these trends. The company expects that the product will supply the data required for on-device AI implementation without delay, and enhance perceived performance by improving application execution speed and responsiveness.

SK Hynix plans to provide this product to customers and proceed with certification within this year. Full-scale mass production is expected to begin in the first quarter of next year. The product will be available in two versions: 512GB and 1TB.

An Hyun, President and Chief Development Officer (CDO) of SK Hynix, said, "With the launch of this product, we also plan to complete the development of consumer and data center SSD products based on the world's highest 321-layer 4D NAND within this year," adding, "We will solidify our position as a 'full-stack AI memory provider' by building a product portfolio with AI technology competitiveness in the NAND sector as well."