One of the things Apple has to “fix” later this year when the iPhone 7 launches is built-in storage. Our increasing media consumption and creation needs can’t be satisfied by just 16GB of storage, so we can’t help but wonder where the new iPhone will go regarding storage options. One recent rumor claimed that the iPhone 7 will be available with 256GB of storage, which will likely meet the needs of those users who splurge on apps and digital content, and who like to record 4K videos.
And it turns out that Apple’s main rival, who happens to be a major iPhone partner and an expert in mobile storage components, has just the chip the iPhone maker might need for 256GB iPhones and iPads.
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Samsung on Thursday announced the industry’s first 256GB UFS storage module that will target high-end mobile devices. In case you don’t know why UFS is the memory type to go with on mobile devices, we’ll remind you that the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 both come equipped with this particular type of storage, which is amazingly fast.
The iPhone 6s, meanwhile, lacks UFS storage, though Apple came up with its own technology to significantly improve read and write speeds to internal flash.
There’s nothing to suggest that Apple will consider Samsung’s UFS memory for the iPhone. But considering Samsung is a major supplier of components for Apple’s iPhone lineup, it’s certainly a possibility.
Samsung said in its press release that the new chips are so fast that they exceed the speed of SATA-based SSD drives in computers, which means data transfers will be lightning fast.
Specs reveal the UFS memory handles up to 45,000 and 40,000 input/output operations per second for random reading and writing, which is more than two times faster than previous-gen UFS memory.
When it comes to actual speeds, the 256GB UFS module does 850MB/s read speeds and 260MB/s sequential write speeds. That’s three times faster than high-performance external microSD cards.
Combine UFS chips with USB 3.0 technology, and you’ll be able to transfer a 5GB Full HD movie from a computer to a mobile device in just 12 seconds.
Even better, the UFC chips are smaller in size than an external microSD card, which means any smartphone maker developing premium devices could provide extra storage space without worrying about making their phones any thicker.
Samsung did not name any device that will get the new storage tier, but it’s not unreasonable to think that high-end gadgets, including future iPhone, iPad, Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines, will make use of the speedier UFS memory.
