There are several things that determine the speed of your smartphone or tablet. Obviously the chipset plays a huge role. Then, there’s also RAM to consider. But if there’s something that some people might overlook, it’s storage. The faster your phone’s storage can read and write data, the snappier it will feel. Now, things are about to get faster with the development of UFS 5.0, which is coming soon.
UFS 5.0 is coming soon
According to the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, UFS 5.0 development is nearing completion and could be coming soon. For those unfamiliar, UFS (Universal Flash Storage) is the flash storage standard used in most modern smartphones, tablets, and other devices that need high performance without draining the battery. The next version promises some serious upgrades over what we currently have.
The biggest improvement is speed. The association claims that UFS 5.0 can hit sequential read and write speeds of up to 10.8 GB/s. That kind of speed is especially useful for AI-driven applications, which are becoming more common on smartphones. Of course, faster storage also means apps launch quicker, and multitasking feels smoother. It also means that your camera processes photos and videos faster.
Beyond raw speed, UFS 5.0 also brings better reliability and security. It includes integrated link equalization for improved signal integrity, which basically means more stable data transfers. There’s also a separate power supply rail to reduce noise between different parts of the system, helping with overall efficiency. Additionally, Inline Hashing has been added to protect data integrity, giving users an extra layer of security.
But how does it compare?
What we know now is that UFS 5.0 can hit sequential read and write speeds of up to 10.9 GB/s. But the better question is, how does it fare against UFS 4.0 or 4.1 storage? Because those are the current storage that the majority of smartphones and tablets are using today.
To put the improvements in perspective, UFS 4.0 maxes out at around 5.8 GB/s for sequential reads, while UFS 4.1 offers a slight bump but stays in the same general range. But speed is just one part of the equation. What’s the point of having such fast read or write speeds at the expense of battery life, right? The power efficiency gains are equally important. UFS 4.0 already improved power consumption by 46% compared to UFS 3.1, but UFS 5.0 takes things further with improved noise isolation and better signal integrity.
In any case, we’ll have to wait for real-world tests to see how it fares in day-to-day performance.