Because 256GB is so 2017.
When looking at most flagship phones these days, it’s no trouble to find one with 64GB, 128GB, or even 256GB of internal storage. This is particularly nice as apps get larger and photos/videos get crispier, but soon you’ll be able to pick up a phone (at least from Samsung) with a whopping 512GB of storage out of the box.
Samsung announced on December 5 that it had officially begun mass production on a 512GB embedded Universal Flash Storage chip – a first for the mobile industry. The entire package consists of eight 64-layer 512GB V-NAND chips and single controller chip, and although it’s packing twice the storage capacity as Samsung’s 48-layer 256GB chip, it’s physically the same size.
With 512GB of storage, Samsung says you’ll be able to store around 130 4K videos (3840 x 2160) that are each 10-minutes long on a smartphone. Compared to a 64GB chip that could only hold 13 of these videos, that’s a massive increase.
On the performance side of things, the 512GB chip has read speeds that max out at 860MB/s and write speeds of 255MB/s. To transfer a 5GB Full HD video clip to an SSD, it’d take just six seconds (eight times faster than what most microSD cards are capable of).
Samsung’s 512GB chip.
When talking about this new chip, Samsung’s Executive Vice President of Memory Sales & Marketing, Jaesoo Han, said:
The new Samsung 512GB eUFS provides the best embedded storage solution for next-generation premium smartphones by overcoming potential limitations in system performance that can occur with the use of micro SD cards.
Samsung’s been one of the few companies that’s continued to offer microSD card support with its phones, but are Han’s words a hint that this might change with the Galaxy S9? We don’t want to read into anything this early on, but it is something to think about.
With that said, you won’t find me complaining about 512GB phones anytime soon.
Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxFBBc-oKeo?modestbranding=0&html5=1&rel=0&autoplay=0&wmode=opaque&loop=0&controls=1&autohide=0&showinfo=0&theme=dark&color=red&enablejsapi=1]
- Galaxy S8 and S8+ review!
- Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
- Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
- Get to know Samsung Bixby
- Join our Galaxy S8 forums
Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Unlocked
