Kioxia releases new version of UFS 3.1 flash memory
Kioxia announced that it will launch a new version of UFS 3.1 embedded flash memory devices with capacities of 256GB and 512GB respectively. Scott Beekman, senior director of flash memory products at Kioxia said, Kioxia’s latest UFS devices have further broken through the performance boundaries with features such as Host Performance Booster, becoming a thin packaging solution required for smartphones and other mobile devices.
Kioxia said that the new product will use the fifth-generation BiCS FLASH 3D (112-layer) flash memory with a package height of 0.8mm (limited to 256GB capacity) and 1.0mm, and support HPB 2.0 technology. Compared with previous products, random read performance has been improved by about 30%, and random write performance has been improved by about 40%, for mobile devices including high-end smartphones.
In Kioxia’s view, embedded flash memory still urgently needs to improve performance and density at this stage. Among storage devices with GB capacity, UFS is increasingly becoming the preferred solution. In the flash storage market dominated by e-MMC and UFS, nearly 70% of demand in 2021 will come from UFS and continue to grow. Kioxia said earlier that it is optimistic about the prospects of the flash memory business and will establish a new research center to enhance its R&D capabilities.
Like GlobalFoundries, Kioxia also has plans for an initial public offering (IPO). Kioxia’s valuation has almost doubled from the initial $16 billion to the current $30 billion. Earlier, it was reported that Intel intends to acquire GlobalFoundries for $30 billion. Kioxia also has similar rumors, but the acquirer is Micron or Western Digital.
