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New UFS 3.0 storage spec promises faster performance and lower power consumption for smartphones

By Koh Wanzi - on 5 Feb 2018, 12:02pm

New UFS 3.0 storage spec promises faster performance and lower power consumption for smartphones

JEDEC has published its UFS 3.0 specification, which brings multiple performance, power, and feature upgrades to the storage standard.

Universal Flash Storage is employed in devices ranging from smartphones and tablets to Chromebooks, so it has fairly wide-ranging applications.

For starters, UFS 3.0 doubles the per-lane bandwidth of UFS 2.1, and you now get a peak data transfer rate of 23.2Gbps. In addition, it introduces a 2.5V VCC power supply mode that facilitates lower power consumption and support for the latest types of NAND flash. In comparison, UFS 2.1 operates between 2.7V and 3.6V.

The 2.5V VCC is actually just one of three different power rails for eUFS 3.0 storage devices, but it’s required to add support for newer types of NAND flash with higher bit densities, including 3D NAND.

To cap things off, UFS 3.0 now offers features designed specifically for automotive use cases, with standard support for extended temperature ranges and “refresh” operation for longer data retention and better reliability.

On paper, UFS 3.0 should enable faster performance and even greater storage capacities in smartphones and tablets, but what’s less clear is when we might see devices that support the new standard. At the moment at least, it seems like mobile SoCs from Qualcomm, MediaTek, HiSilicon, and Samsung don’t yet support it, so it could be a while before it hits the market.

Source: JEDEC via AnandTech

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