Samsung Begins Mass Production of 1TB Flash Storage Chip Suitable for iPhones

Samsung has started developing what it says is the first one terabyte embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) storage chip, powered by the company's fifth-generation V-NAND.

Most Android phones include a microSD slot that lets owners upgrade the internal capacity of their device, but the new 1TB chip will offer storage capacity levels comparable to notebooks without the need for additional memory cards, according to Samsung.

"The 1TB eUFS is expected to play a critical role in bringing a more notebook-like user experience to the next generation of mobile devices," said Cheol Choi, EVP of Memory Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics.

"What's more, Samsung is committed to assuring the most reliable supply chain and adequate production quantities to support the timely launches of upcoming flagship smartphones in accelerating growth of the global mobile market."

In addition to providing higher capacity, the eUFS technology is also designed to be faster than standard solid-state storage and microSD cards, offering a 1,000MB/s sequential read speed and a random read speed of 58,000 IOPS, despite being the same package size as the company's 512GB flash chips.

Samsung says the random speeds allow for high-speed continuous shooting at 960 frames per second and will enable smartphone users to take full advantage of the multi-camera capabilities in today and tomorrow’s flagship models.

Samsung began mass-producing its 512GB storage chips in December 2017 and unveiled the technology in its new flagship phones the following year. Assuming a similar rollout, Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S10 will likely come with a 1TB storage capacity option, thanks to the company's new eUFS technology.

Meanwhile, Samsung plans to expand the production of its fifth-generation 512GB V-NAND at its Pyeongtaek plant in Korea throughout the first half of 2019 to address the anticipated strong demand for the 1TB eUFS from mobile device manufacturers around the world.

As a leader in NAND type memory solutions, Samsung has been supplying Apple with flash memory chips since 2017. While this development seems most likely to affect the memories used in Apple's future iPhone and iPad products, Samsung's memory could conceivably show up in future Macs, which have become heavily reliant on flash storage.

Apple's 2018 iPad Pro models are available with 1TB storage, the highest capacity offered in an iPhone or iPad to date.