SK Hynix, one of Samsung's biggest rivals, has been making some big announcements recently, including plans to build the world's largest chip factory and a partnership with TSMC to produce the next generation of high-bandwidth memory, known like HBM4.
The company's latest move is the development of a next-generation mobile NAND solution called Zoned UFS (ZUFS) 4.0, which is optimized for AI in mobile devices, particularly smartphones.
ZUFS technology classifies and stores data generated from smartphones in different areas, depending on their characteristics. Unlike a traditional UFS, ZUFS 4.0 groups and stores data with similar purposes and frequencies, which supposedly increases the speed of the device's operating system and improves overall storage efficiency.
ZUFS production
SK Hynix states: “The ZUFS also shortens the time needed to run an application from a smartphone during long hours of use by 45%, compared to a conventional UFS. Since the problem of read and write performance degradation improved more than four times, the product lifespan also increased by 40%.”
SK Hynix claims that ZUFS 4.0 meets JEDEC specifications and that mass production of the chip will begin in the third quarter.
Ahn Hyun, head of SK Hynix's NS Committee, said customers are demanding higher-quality memory solutions as major technology companies shift their focus toward product development in devices that incorporate their own generative AI applications. He said the company “will continue to work to strengthen its leadership as the world's leading AI memory supplier by providing high-performance NAND solutions that meet such high requirements at the right time, while building a stronger partnership with main ICT companies”.
