Samsung has started mass production on a new class of mobile flash memory that is nearly four times faster than previous chips. The Pro Class 1500 high-speed embedded memory will deliver SSD-like read and write speeds to smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices in capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.
Smartphone processors are already churning along at record speeds approaching 2.0GHz with up to four processing cores, but the CPU alone isn't enough to keep a handset or tablet feeling snappy. After all, it's the job of the system RAM to keep track of all the open programs and if this component is lacking, you'll certainly notice it.
The Korean giant claims these new flash modules can hit read speeds of up to 140MB/sec with write speeds clocked at 50MB/sec at 1,500 IOPS writes / 3,500 IOPS reads. All around, this is nearly as fast as the budget-minded 32GB Crucial v4 solid state drive that we reported on yesterday.
Engadget notes that Samsung has utilized a lot of different technology to obtain these speeds, including but not limited to a 20nm manufacturing process, quick toggle DDR 2.0 memory that has its own controller and a new JEDEC memory standard.
We don't know which companies will be the first to use these new chips in consumer products but it's a given that Samsung won't keep this new technology to themselves. If we had to venture a guess, it's plausible that we could see these flash chips show up in Apple's new iPhone later this year.