UFS 3.1 vs 4.0: Samsung Cuts Corner on New Galaxy S24 Model?
Recent reports indicate that for the upcoming Galaxy S24 series, due to be launched early next year, Samsung has no plans to upgrade the memory configuration. To cut costs, a 16GB version will not be offered. Furthermore, Samsung has opted to equip the Galaxy S24 series with the Exynos 2400, a decision also driven by the objective of better cost management. The pricing of the new generation products is expected to remain consistent with the Galaxy S23 series.
Lately, there have been leaks from Samsung’s supply chain, as shared by netizens, suggesting that the 128GB storage variant of the Galaxy S24 series will only support the UFS 3.1 standard, instead of the UFS 4.0 standard used in other models of the same series. This implies that Samsung, in pursuing its cost-control strategy, has made a compromise in the read and write speeds of its next-generation flagship smartphones.
Currently, Samsung’s latest storage chips based on the UFS 4.0 standard, when paired with their proprietary controller, can reach a maximum sequential read speed of up to 4200 MB/s. This is a significant leap in energy efficiency, saving 46% more than previous solutions based on the UFS 4.0 standard, and doubling the bandwidth. Coupled with an increase in IOPS, storage based on the new standard enables faster response times in phones, making applications and other tasks more seamless. However, the average user may hardly notice this difference. With rumors that Qualcomm’s third-generation Snapdragon 8 is priced higher than its predecessor, Samsung has had to make compromises in other configurations.
When some smartphone manufacturers tout their products as integrating top-tier core hardware, they often concurrently opt for more modest components in other areas, such as image sensors, to keep costs in check. Samsung’s decision to lower the standard for storage solutions is a common tactic. In many cases, the differences are not conspicuously noticeable in daily use, and users may not perceive the variations in configuration.
