Embedded Universal Flash Storage, or eUFS, has been one of the most important developments for mobile applications. Promising even faster speeds and bigger capacities than the first 128 GB eUFS from four years ago, Samsung’s new 1 TB eUFS 2.1 promises to bring SATA SSD-like performance to smartphones.
The Korean tech giant has already begun mass production of this industry-first 1 TB eUFS 2.1. Built in the same package size at 11.5mm x 13.0mm, it doubles the capacity of the previous 512GB version by stacking 16 layers of Samsung’s advanced 512 gigabit V-NAND flash memory. In charge of that 1 TB worth of flash memory is a proprietary memory controller that ensures fast performance so users can store up to 260 10-minute 4K videos seamlessly on their smartphones.
Memory | Sequential Read Speed | Sequential Write Speed | Random Read Speed | Random Write Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|
Samsung 1 TB eUFS 2.1 (Jan. 2019) | 1000 MB/s | 260 MB/s | 58,000 IOPS | 50,000 IOPS |
Samsung 512 GB eUFS 2.1 (Nov. 2017) | 860 MB/s | 255 MB/s | 42,000 IOPS | 40,000 IOPS |
Samsung eUFS 2.1 for automotive (Sept. 2017) | 850 MB/s | 150 MB/s | 45,000 IOPS | 32,000 IOPS |
Samsung 256 GB UFS Card (July 2016) | 530 MB/s | 170 MB/s | 40,000 IOPS | 35,000 IOPS |
Samsung 256 GB eUFS 2.0 (Feb. 2016) | 850 MB/s | 260 MB/s | 45,000 IOPS | 40,000 IOPS |
Samsung 128 GB eUFS 2.0 (Jan. 2015) | 350 MB/s | 150 MB/s | 19,000 IOPS | 14,000 IOPS |
eMMC 5.1 | 250 MB/s | 125 MB/s | 11,000 IOPS | 13,000 IOPS |
eMMC 5.0 | 250 MB/s | 90 MB/s | 7,000 IOPS | 13,000 IOPS |
eMMC 4.5 | 140 MB/s | 50 MB/s | 7,000 IOPS | 2,000 IOPS |
Aside from the astounding capacity, the new 1 TB eUFS 2.1’s speed is impressive in its own right. Sequential read speed can reach up to 1,000 MB/s, twice that of conventional SATA-based SSDs. Meanwhile, random read speed clocks at up to 58,000 IOPS, while not nearly as fast as a typical SATA3 SSD, it is getting very close. Needless to say, eUFS 2.1 significantly outclasses even the fastest variants of microSD.
Samsung currently has plans to expand production of its 512 Gb V-NAND flash chips at its Pyeongtaek plant throughout the first half of 2019 in anticipation of strong demand for the 1TB eUFS from smartphone makers worldwide.