your mobile or tablet will have the speed of a PC PCIe 4.0 SSD

UFS memory is non-volatile memory and therefore the so-called NAND Flash which is used in devices with low power consumption, but with high performance in its class. Well, KIOXIA has just introduced its first UFS memories with MIPI M-PHY 5.0, which will represent a generational leap in the performance of this type of memory.

In terms of storage, the big problem with low-power products is precisely the power needed to transfer data at high speeds. It is for this reason that we do not see handheld devices with NVMe memories through PCI Express interfaces and other alternatives are used, UFS being the most used today, which provides speed between SD cards and NVMe SSDs.

What is KIOXIA UFS Memory with M-PHY 5.0?

The Japanese multinational presented its new UFS flash memories built under on the BICS 3D process3D NAND, in three different capacities per chip: 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB. Regarding its communication interface, these are compatible with version 3.1 of the standardbut these UFS bring M-PHY 5.0 which enable them to achiever in Gear 5 mode and single-channel 2.9 GB/s and dual-channel 5.8 GB/s. Which puts this type of storage memory at typical speeds of a PCI Express 4.0 x2 interface.

If we talk about performance improvements, we find that compared to the previous generation of UFS memory, the sequential read speed has increased by 90% allowing to arrive up to 4.4 GB/swhile that of 70% sequential write

. If we talk about random access, the improvement is 35% for reading and 60% for writing. At the moment, the KIOXIA UFS M-PHY 5.0 already is manufactured in 256 GB densities, while the rest will come later. As for the first products that will use this type of non-volatile RAM It will take at least a year. because right now there is no processor on the market that uses such an interface and it will have to wait a long time for it to be used in very low power mobiles, tablets and laptops.

A qualitative leap in handheld devices

Take for example Valve’s soon to be released Steam Deck, where some variants of it use NVMe memory as a storage method, using UFS M-PHY 5-0 would mean lower manufacturing costs. of a future revision and energy consumption of the device.

As far as performance is concerned, it should be borne in mind that ultra-thin and very low-power laptops in many cases use PCI Express interfaces, so adopting the new type of UFS may mean , if not an increase in performance, at least energy balance savings. Which can translate to more battery hours or better processors. In any case, let’s not forget that a system is only as fast as when its slowest part leaves it. Finally, it must be remembered that this memory is soldered to the board, so it could be used to create systems without the ability to expand storage via solid state in order to save on manufacturing costs, as is the case with the