Your next smartphone may have much faster storage thanks to the latest update of the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) standard. The UFS 5.0 introduces significant speed improvements, which are mainly made with AI in mind.
UFS 5.0 storage is almost twice as fast as its predecessor
Set by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC), UFS 5.0 is the latest flash storage standard, which was introduced on Monday. The new standard almost doubles the speed to 10.8GB per second, from 5.8GB per second with the UFS 4.0, which was introduced in 2022.
Besides better performance, UFS 5.0 also improves the energy efficiency of the storage. All the upgrades are meant to meet the demands of AI, JEDEC says.
What phones are getting the new storage?
The Samsung Galaxy S23 series featured UFS 4.0 storage months after the standard was launched. | Image Credit – PhoneArena
No company has announced that it will use UFS 5.0 storage on its devices yet, and we don’t know when it could appear on any smartphone. In the past, not all manufacturers were quick to implement new standards, but things could be different this time. The UFS 5.0 storage will be backward compatible with hardware designed for UFS 4.x, which must make the transition easier.
Samsung released the Galaxy S23 with UFS 4.0 support only a few months after the standard was released in 2022. Google, on the other hand, is using UFS 3.1 even on the Pixel 10 models with 128GB storage. Fortunately, all the latest Pixel models with storage over 256GB have UFS 4.0.
Do you pay extra for faster storage in your phone?
Yes, I want the best performance
75%
Maybe, if it’s noticeably better
25%
No way, storage speed doesn’t matter
0%
Apple has never used UFS storage on the iPhone, though. Even the iPhone 17 models have storage that’s significantly slower than UFS 4.0, but the company doesn’t disclose any details about it.
Faster is always better
Storage speed is something that almost nobody could notice in their daily life with a phone. However, AI apps definitely need higher speeds, so having faster storage could make the growing number of AI-powered features and apps quicker. I’m always up for faster apps and features, so that’s good news.
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Ilia, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, has been covering the mobile industry since 2011, with experience at outlets like Forbes Bulgaria. Passionate about smartphones, tablets, and consumer tech, he blends deep industry knowledge with a personal fascination that began with his first Nokia and Sony Ericsson devices. Originally from Bulgaria and now based in Lima, Peru, Ilia balances his tech obsessions with walking his dog, training at the gym, and slowly mastering Spanish.
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