SK hynix unveils world's highest 321-layer NAND chips
South Korean chipmaker SK hynix said Thursday it had developed a universal flash storage chip integrating the world's highest 321-layer 1 terabit NAND flash technology, providing enhanced speed and power efficiency for mobile devices with on-device AI.
The UFS 4.1 product was developed in response to growing demand for NAND solutions that combine high performance with low power consumption to support reliable operation of AI-powered mobile devices, the company explained.
'Through UFS 4.1, which is optimized for AI workloads, we will strengthen our leadership in the smartphone memory market," the firm said in a statement.
The UFS 4.1 solution is 7 percent more power efficient than the previous model, which used 238-layer NAND, according to the company. The chip is also slimmer at 0.85 millimeters thick, down from 1 mm in the previous model, making it more suitable for ultra-slim devices.
Key performance improvements include a sequential read speed of 4,300 megabytes per second, the fastest among fourth-generation UFS products. Random read and write speeds, key metrics for multitasking in mobile devices, have improved by 15 percent and 40 percent, respectively, compared to the previous generation.
The company said the improved performance is expected to deliver data for on-device AI operations without delay, while allowing faster and more responsive app launches to enhance overall user experience.
SK hynix said it would send sample shipments of the product, which comes in 512-gigabyte and 1-terabyte capacities, to customers within this year. Mass production is expected to begin in the first quarter of next year.
Ahn Hyun, chief development officer at SK hynix, said the company planned to complete development of both consumer and data center solid-state drives based on 321-layer 4D NAND within this year.
"We are on track to expand our position as a full-stack AI memory provider in the NAND space by building a product portfolio with an AI technological edge," said Ahn.
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