SK hynix said Thursday it has begun supplying its high-performance mobile NAND solution ZUFS 4.1 for use in the latest smartphones to enhance ondevice artificial intelligence capabilities.
ZUFS 4.1 or Zoned UFS solution improves operating system speed and data management efficiency by writing data sequentially rather than overwriting existing data, the company explained. This approach mitigates read-performance degradation by more than four times compared to conventional UFS, cutting overall app launch time by 45 percent and AI app launch time by 47 percent.
“ZUFS 4.1, which we have successfully begun to supply, is the first solution developed and mass-produced through collaboration aimed at optimizing Android OS and storage devices. Looking ahead, its applications are expected to expand,” said Kim Ju-seon, president and head of AI Infra at SK hynix.
The chipmaker said it has also strengthened error-handling capabilities in ZUFS 4.1 compared to version 4.0 developed in May 2024. The new version detects errors more precisely and communicates corrective actions to the central processing unit, improving system reliability and recovery performance.
Universal Flash Storage is a high-speed flash memory specification for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs. Since the launch of UFS 1.0 in 2011, the standard has evolved to boost data-transfer speed and power efficiency.
SK hynix developed the Zoned UFS 4.1 solution this year based on the ZUFS model first introduced by the Joint Electron Device Engineering in 2023. The company said it will continue to expand the supply of advanced NAND solutions to meet customer demand while strengthening partnerships with global companies in the AI memory sector.
herim@heraldcorp.com
