Update: The Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus might also come with an improved 12MP camera — here's what we've heard
The Galaxy S23 — or whatever the next flagship phone from Samsung will be called — could get a speed boost in the form of faster storage.
That’s because Samsung has taken the covers off its new Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 4.0, which offers faster read and write speeds, as well as better efficiency and bandwidth than the current UFS 3.1.
With a read speed of up to 4,200 MB/s and a write speed that tops out at 2,800 MB/s, UFS 4.0 basically offers double the performance of the last generation storage. And per lane speeds can hit 23.2 Gbps — again double that of UFS 3.1 — which should work well with 5G phones where a lot of data is being processed.
BREAKING: Samsung has developed the industry's highest performing Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 4.0 storage solution, which has received JEDEC® board of director approval. What is UFS 4.0 and what does it mean for the future of storage? Read on to learn more. pic.twitter.com/4Wxdu0J2PDMay 3, 2022
Samsung also noted that power efficiency has been improved, meaning that next-gen phones that make use of UFS 4.0 could benefit from faster storage without taking a hit to battery life: “Power efficiency has also been enhanced. UFS 4.0 will deliver a sequential read speed of 6.0MB/s per mA, which is a 46% improvement over the previous generation so end users can get more out of their battery life.”
In real-world terms, this will likely translate into much faster loading times for apps, especially those that have heavy data processing requirements, such as graphically intensive games. It could also mean that handling big files or data-rich RAW images on a smartphone becomes notably faster than it currently is. As such, we could posit that UFS 4.0 could be seen in the next Galaxy S-line flagship or even the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Realistically, though, reports suggest that UFS 4.0 mass production won't get underway until the third quarter of this year, which might be too late for Samsung's next foldable phone. But the faster storage would certainly be ready in time fo the Galaxy S23 launch, which would likely happen in early 2023 if Samsung sticks to its usual pattern of Galaxy S rollouts.
Samsung also said UFS 4.0 could be “adopted in future automotive applications, AR, and VR as well,” which would hint that the South Korean electronics giant could be working on new VR and AR tech.
