Samsung unveils first 256GB UFS 2.0 memory for mobile

Major flagships looks to be re-embracing the microSD card this year, but with LG and Samsung disabling Marshmallow’s Adoptable Storage, some smartphone users are probably still longing for additional main memory. For those looking for a little more space, Samsung has just announced that it is mass producing the industry’s first 256GB Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 2.0 memory chips for mobile

Samsung originally began making the switch to UFS 2.0 storage from the eMMC standard in last year’s flagships, as it allows for much higher data transfer speeds. This memory chip handles up to 45,000 and 40,000 input and output operations per second (IOPS) for random reading and writing. This is twice the speed of the 19,000 and 14,000 IOPS of Samsung’s previous generation UFS memory.

Samsung also states that its new 256GB UFS chip uses two lanes of data transfer to move data at up to 850MB/s, making it nearly twice as fast as a typical SATA-based SSD used in PCs. Sequential write speeds are also quite impressive, reaching 260MB/s. Samsung boasts that this is approximately three times faster than high performance microSD cards and looks to be twice as fast as the company’s 128GB chip from last year.

While we might not need such high speeds for every situation, Samsung is targeting its 256GB chip at the high-end market to help consumers take advantage of seamless 4K Ultra HD video playback and faster data transfers over increasingly common USB Type-C connectors.

It’s interesting that Samsung has chosen not to include its latest high speed and large capacity chip inside its new Galaxy S7. We will just have to wait for the first device to arrive with Samsung’s 256GB UFS 2.0 memory, which will probably appear later in the year.