Samsung Electronics announced the introduction of the Samsung 950 PRO solid state drive (SSD), designed to meet the demands of high-performance consumer and business laptops and PCs. The drive’s M.2 form factor means that users with ultra-slim notebook PCs and workstations can benefit from industry-leading storage endurance, reliability and energy efficiency.

The Samsung 950 PRO SSD is Samsung’s first consumer-ready Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe*) M.2 form factor SSD with vertical NAND (V-NAND) technology; supporting the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) 3.0 interface. With the introduction of NVMe, the first protocol optimized for SSDs, users of the Samsung 950 PRO will benefit from improved performance and power saving which can help increase battery life and potentially reduce operating costs. The drive is ideal for professionals who want cutting-edge performance, higher bandwidth and lower latency from their high-end PCs and workstations, for projects such as computer-aided design, data analysis and engineering simulation. The compact M.2 2280 form factor ensures compatibility with next-generation desktop and mobile platforms that support the M.2 PCIe slot and interface.

“With the introduction of the 950 PRO using NVMe and PCIe, Samsung is able to provide our customers with the memory needed to handle the increased storage demands of tomorrow’s computing systems,” said Un-Soo Kim, Senior Vice President of Branded Memory, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. “Consumers and businesses alike can experience enterprise-quality performance and benefits such as speed, endurance and energy efficiency to support the most demanding applications. The 950 PRO is yet another example of a branded memory solution that continues to elevate our portfolio of products and reflects Samsung’s continued leadership in the memory industry.”

Featuring the PCIe Gen.3 x4 interface and supporting the NVMe protocol, the Samsung 950 PRO offers improved random and sequential performance over Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) interface drives utilizing the legacy Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) protocol. Users of applications that benefit from high input/output operations per second (IOPS) will experience up to four times faster performance than with traditional SATA SSDs.

The 950 PRO will be available in 512 gigabyte (GB) and 256GB storage capacities. The 512GB version delivers sequential read/write speeds of up to 2,500 MB/s and 1,500 MB/s. Random read performance is up to 300,000 IOPS, with write speeds of up to 110,000 IOPS. It features Samsung’s second generation MLC V-NAND 32-layer 128Gb die with UBX controller and magician software.

The drive was built to last, with AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption to protect data and Dynamic Thermal Guard, which can protect the device and data in inclement weather from 0 to 70 degrees Celsius. It can also withstand physical shock of up to 1500G/0.5ms and vibrations up to 20G.

Both capacities come with a 5-year limited warranty up to 200 terabytes written (TBW) for the 256GB and 400TBW for the 512GB. The 950 PRO will be available beginning in October 2015, with an MSRP of $199.99 for the 256GB capacity and $349.99 for the 512GB capacity. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com/950PRO.

Samsung Electronics announced that it is mass producing the industry’s first 12-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR4 (low power, double data rate 4) mobile DRAM, based on its advanced 20-nanometer (nm) process technology.

The newest LPDDR4 is expected to significantly accelerate the adoption of high capacity mobile DRAM worldwide. The 12Gb LPDDR4 brings the largest capacity and highest speed available for a DRAM chip, while offering excellent energy efficiency, reliability and ease of design – all essential to developing next-generation mobile devices.

“By initiating mass production of 12Gb LPDDR4 mobile DRAM in an extremely timely manner, we now are not only helping OEMs to accelerate their moves to the next generation of mobile devices, but also providing functionality that will give mobile consumers greatly enhanced user experiences,” said Joo Sun Choi, executive vice president of Memory Sales and Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “Furthermore, we intend to closely collaborate with our global customers to move beyond premium smartphones and tablets in creating new digital markets that embrace the full potential of cutting-edge technologies like next-generation mobile DRAM.”

Compared to the preceding 20nm-based 8Gb LPDDR4, the 12Gb version is more than 30 percent faster at 4,266 megabits per second (Mbps), and is twice as fast as DDR4 DRAM for PCs*, while consuming 20 percent less energy. In addition, manufacturing productivity of the 12Gb LPDDR4 has been raised more than 50 percent over that of 20nm-class** 8Gb LPDDR4, which will further fuel demand for higher memory capacity in flagship mobile devices.

The 12Gb LPDDR4 enables 3 gigabyte (GB) or 6GB of mobile DRAM in a single package using just two chips and four chips respectively, while being the only solution that can provide a 6GB LPDDR4 package. In next-generation flagship devices, 6GB of LPDDR4 mobile DRAM will allow consumers to enjoy seamless multitasking and maximum performance within the latest operating system (OS) environments. Also, based on the new 12Gb LPDDR4, the 6GB package can easily fit into the same space used for 3GB LPDDR4 packages currently available, therefore meeting the need for greater design compatibility and manufacturing productivity in advanced mobile devices.

By expanding its high-capacity memory product line based on 12Gb LPDDR4, Samsung plans to reinforce the competitiveness of its industry-leading 20nm DRAM lineup (12Gb/8Gb/6Gb/4Gb), while further solidifying the company’s position in the growing premium memory market.

Samsung also expects that due to the exceptional benefits of its LPDDR4 mobile memory, application areas will expand beyond smartphones and tablets to include ultra-slim PCs, digital appliances and automotive devices, in the coming years.

During the conference, Samsung established its presence with Samsung Code, an event marketed to enterprise app developers and partners that consisted of a full array of interactive technical sessions, hands-on programs and a keynote speech. Samsung Code was also an opportunity to make Samsung B2B SDKs more accessible to developers and partners with the announcement of the latest version of the Samsung Enterprise Alliance Program (SEAP), which enables the creation of apps with higher security and more features to better meet the needs of the enterprise market.

“As Android OS adoption continues to grow in the business environment, Samsung is strengthening its commitment to providing developers with the tools needed to create high quality and innovative business solutions for Samsung mobile devices,” explains InJong Rhee, Executive Vice President of Enterprise Business, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics. “This means allowing open access to all necessary collateral that lets developers leverage core Samsung technologies, such as class-leading mobile device security with Samsung’s mobile security platform, KNOX.”

Furthermore, the updated SEAP portal provides developers with free and easy access to B2B development, sales and marketing tools and resources, including educational manuals, materials and a community forum for networking, collaboration and establishing expertise.

Keynote speaker and Vice President of Enterprise Business, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics, Rick Segal emphasized that the company aims to reach out directly to developers and make sure they understand all of the opportunities they have to get their applications in front of enterprises around the world, explaining, “We will help you. We have many co-marketing opportunities and things we do directly with our enterprise customers and we will take you along with us so you that you can make money with those enterprise customers.”

With the release of SEAP for Developers, updates are also coming to SEAP for Partners. Along with access to the SEAP developer portal, new features include a streamlined registration process, the ability to obtain commercial licenses for market or internal distribution, and access to Samsung mobile devices for testing. Samsung and its partners will be able to work more closely together, with partners receiving support priority plus access to sales and marketing assets.

The launch of the new friction-free portals lets SEAP cover a full range of partnerships, giving SDK experience and go-to-market support of developer and partner solutions alike. Additionally, Samsung will continue to work with developers and partners toward the goal of achieving success together in the B2B segment through Samsung Code, which is slated to be held again at the AnDevCon in Boston from July 29-31.

You can visit the SEAP portal for developers at https://seap.samsung.com/developer.