Samsung Prepares UFS 5.0 for AI Without Network Connection

JAKARTA - Samsung Electronics is developing a UFS 5.0 memory that is said to be the fastest in the industry. This technology is designed so that AI models can run directly on mobile phones and mobile devices without having to rely on an internet connection.

As reported by Yonhap quoted Tuesday, June 23, Samsung stated that UFS 5.0 will be used as a new generation storage solution for smartphones and other mobile devices.

UFS or Universal Flash Storage is a fast storage technology commonly used in mobile phones. The higher the performance, the faster the device reads and processes data.

Samsung says this new memory is important because generative AI is starting to shift from cloud computing to devices. That is, more data must be processed directly on the phone, rather than being sent to the server.

"In the era of AI on devices, storage devices are evolving into the main driver that determines the AI experience," said Choi Jang-seok, Head of Memory Product Planning at Samsung Electronics, as quoted by Yonhap from Samsung's press release.

Mass production of UFS 5.0 is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.

According to Samsung, storage is no longer just a place to store photos, videos, or applications. In AI-based devices, memory determines how fast commands are processed and answers are given.

The performance of UFS 5.0 is expected to reduce latency, which is the time lag when the device processes commands. This technology is also said to be able to speed up the response when users run large language models or LLM directly on the device.

LLM is a large AI model used to understand and generate text, such as chatbots or digital assistants.

Samsung stated that the development of UFS 5.0 has become a new benchmark for the next generation of mobile memory market.