UFS 3.1 promises speedier smartphone storage

JEDEC, tht organization responsible for setting the standards for the storage used in most smartphones, has released a new Universal Flash Storage 3.1 specification.

In a nutshell, UFS 3.1 should bring faster performance to smartphones and removable storage cards, while also reducing power consumption.

Among other things, that’s because the UFS 3.1 standard includes:

• Write Booster – using non-volatile SLC cache to improve write speeds
• Deep Sleep – new low power state
• Performance Throttling Notification – alerts the host device when high temperatures cause performance to be throttled
• Host Performance Booster – optional caching feature to improve performance on UFS devices with larger density for faster caching/read performance

The theoretical top data transfer speed of UFS 3.1 is 23.2 Gbps… which is the same as what you’d expect from UFS 3.0. But the new feature should help boost real world performance in many situations, while enabling longer battery life in mobile devices.

As noted by AnandTech, these features are commonly found in solid state drives like those typically used in PCs and servers. Adding them to the UFS standard could bring mobile devices like smartphones and tablets more in line with those products.