On May 22, 2025, SK Hynix announced the successful development of the world’s first UFS 4.1 flash memory product featuring 321-layer 1Tb TLC 4D NAND technology, available in 512GB and 1TB capacities.
Compared to the previous generation based on 238-layer NAND flash, the new 321-layer NAND flash represents a significant technological advancement.
Specifically, its thickness has been reduced from 1mm to 0.85mm—a 15% decrease—offering greater design flexibility for end devices such as smartphones in limited space. At the same time, energy efficiency has improved by 7%, meaning it consumes less power during operation and extends device battery life, which is a notable advantage for energy-conscious mobile devices and data centers.
The flash memory also excels in data transmission and read/write performance. It offers data transfer speeds of up to 4300MB/s, with random read and write speeds improved by 15% and 40% respectively (specific figures not yet released), placing it among the global leaders.
SK Hynix emphasized that this 321-layer NAND flash is “optimized for edge AI.” Edge AI refers to technology that enables artificial intelligence models to run locally on end devices—such as smartphones, smart home devices, and sensors—without relying on cloud servers, significantly enhancing data processing speed and privacy.
In familiar applications like smartphones, edge AI covers functions such as facial recognition unlocking, local voice assistant recognition (e.g., Siri), and photo scene optimization (e.g., night mode). These rely on local AI hardware and models rather than remote services.
This high-performance flash memory from SK Hynix provides strong storage support for end devices to achieve more complex and intelligent AI functions, facilitating the advancement of smart devices toward higher levels of intelligence.
SK Hynix disclosed a detailed product rollout plan. The company plans to deliver samples to customers within the year for verification processes to ensure product quality and performance meet market demands. Mass production is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year to meet the strong market demand for high-performance flash memory.
Additionally, within this year, SK Hynix will complete development of consumer-grade and data center-grade SSD products based on the world’s highest 321-layer 4D NAND flash memory. This move will expand the application of this technology across different fields—from consumer electronics to data centers—injecting new vitality into the entire storage market.
Source: SK Hynix
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