Samsung begins mass production of UHS-1 microSD cards

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology today announced that it is now mass producing Ultra High Speed–1 (UHS-1) interface microSD cards that support the highest performance levels required on advanced LTE (Long Term Evolution) smartphones and tablets. This specification was previously reserved for their full sized SD cards, which were primarily used in DSLRs and video cameras, but now, the Korean company is bringing the same technology to smartphones and tablets, too. While speeds of traditional microSD cards peak at around 20MBps, the new UHS-1 cards can achieve a sequential read speed of 80MBps.

Faster speeds for faster phones

The new UHS-1 memory card comes in a 16GB density. It is comprised of Samsung's 20 nanometer-class 64GB toggle DDR 2.0 devices and an advanced Samsung controller supporting the ultra-fast UHS-1 interface. According to internal tests, the new 16GB UHS-1 microSD card has a maximum sequential read speed of 80 MB/s. This is more than four times the read speed of today's advanced microSD cards, which operate at 21 MB/s. Initial production of the 16GB UHS-1 microSD cards began late last month and in the future, Samsung plans to expand its microSD card offerings with higher density solutions as well. "MicroSD cards with a UHS-1 interface offer users an extremely high level of performance on their LTE smartphones and for other advanced mobile applications. This allows consumers to enjoy high-quality images and video playback directly from the memory cards, which fully support the advanced performance features of diverse digital gadgets," said Wanhoon Hong, Executive Vice President, Memory Sales & Marketing, Samsung Electronics.

With most of the newer phones supporting LTE, high-speed video capture with advanced features, like burst mode, we need faster memory now, more than ever. The increased speeds will help fetch data faster and that should also help reduce the lag noticed when the memory card is filled with data. These cards should be available in the coming months.