PCIe speeds on a fingernail-sized SSD: Micron's latest UFS 4.0 storage promises to make AI run faster on your smartphone — but you can only get it up to 1TB capacity

Micron UFS 4.0
(Image credit: Micron)

Micron has taken the wraps off its UFS 4.0 mobile storage solution. The new SSD, delivered in the world's smallest UFS package at just 9x13 millimeters, is built on Micron's advanced 232-layer 3D NAND technology and offers up to 1TB capacity.

Unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2024, the UFS 4.0 solution promises faster and more responsive experiences on flagship smartphones and accelerates data-intensive experiences with up to 4300MBps sequential read and 4000MBps sequential write speeds, doubling the performance of previous generations.

This speed boost allows users to launch productivity, creativity, and AI apps more quickly. Micron claims LLMs in generative AI applications can be loaded up to 40% faster.

Optimized performance

The reduced package size potentially paves the way for the design of energy-efficient, ultra-slim smartphones and allows for larger batteries.

Micron's UFS 4.0 includes proprietary firmware features such as High-Performance Mode (HPM) that reportedly optimizes performance during intensive smartphone use, resulting in over 25% improvement in speed when launching multiple applications. It also includes a One Button Refresh (OBR) that automatically cleans and optimizes data. 

The Zoned UFS (ZUFS) feature allows the host to specify different zones where data can be stored, potentially improving device usefulness over time.

Micron UFS 4.0 will be available in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB capacities, but there's no word on pricing at the moment. 

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Wayne Williams
Editor

Wayne Williams is a freelancer writing news for TechRadar Pro. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for 30 years. In that time he wrote for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a number of them too.

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