Following the memory breakthrough of the automotive industry’s first 128GB eUFS in September, 2017, Samsung’s 256GB eUFS is now being shipped to automotive manufacturers preparing the market for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), next-generation infotainment systems and new-age dashboards in luxury vehicles.

As thermal management is crucial for automotive memory applications, Samsung’s 256GB eUFS extends the temperature range to between -40°C and 105°C for both operational and power-saving modes. Warranties for conventional embedded multimedia card (eMMC) 5.1 solutions generally cover -25°C to 85°C for vehicles in operation and -40°C to 85°C when in idle or power-saving mode,

“With the new temperature threshold for automobile warranties, major automotive manufacturers can now design-in memory that’s even well suited for extreme environments and know they will be getting highly reliable performance,” said Kyoung Hwan Han, vice president of NAND marketing at Samsung Electronics. “Starting with high-end vehicles, we expect to expand our business portfolio across the entire automotive market, while accelerating growth in the premium memory segment.”

Samsung’s 256GB eUFS not only can easily endure the new temperature specification, despite the heat-sensitive nature of memory storage, but also through its temperature notification feature, a sensor will notify the host application processor (AP) when the device temperature exceeds 105°C or any pre-set level. The AP would then regulate its clock speed to lower the temperature to an acceptable level.

Sequential reads for the 256GB eUFS can reach 850 megabytes per second (MB/s), which is at the high end of the current JEDEC UFS 2.1 standard, and random read operations come in at 45,000 IOPS. In addition, a data refresh feature speeds up processing and enables greater system reliability by relocating older data to other less-used cells.

The temperature notification, developed by Samsung, and data refresh features are included in UFS specification, version 3.0, which was announced last month by JEDEC, a global semiconductor standards organization.

Samsung plans to bolster its technology partnerships with global automakers and component providers, and continue expanding its eUFS line-up with an aim to lead the premium memory market.

Samsung Electronics unveiled its newest memory card globally—the PRO Plus 128GB microSD card. Built with Samsung’s advanced MLC NAND flash solution, this 128GB memory card provides a powerful new standard for advanced multimedia memory solutions, delivering the highest speed and storage capacity currently available for the growing consumer base using action cameras, drones, premium smartphones and DSLRs with 4K recording and playback feature.

With the introduction of its new 128GB microSD card, Samsung provides consumers with the highest level of memory card solution that smoothly captures heavy-loaded, high-resolution video, photography and multimedia contents for use in today’s mobile devices.

“With the influx of advanced technologies like action cameras and drones, consumers are expecting more out of their memory cards,” said Un-Soo Kim, Senior Vice President of Branded Product Marketing, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are seeing a fast increase in 4K UHD video recording and playback, and therefore a growing need for higher memory storage volume and faster transfer speeds. The introduction of our PRO Plus128GB microSD delivers on Samsung’s commitment to create best-in-class memory cards that meet the rapidly evolving needs of today’s consumers, as well as strengthens our leadership in branded memory products.”

The PRO Plus 128GB microSD is the newest addition to Samsung’s PRO Plus lineup, which was first introduced in 32GB and 64GB versions in May 2015. The 128GB microSD features the highest-quality MLC NAND flash memory and UHS-I Speed Class 3 (U3) and Speed Class 10 support, offering the industry’s fastest speeds of up to 95MB/s and 90MB/s for read and write respectively.

The new PRO Plus 128GB microSD is ideal for use in high-end smartphones and tablets, as well as fulfilling the security, capacity, performance and environment requirements inherent in newly emerging audio and video consumer electronics, specifically action cameras and drones. The new memory card is equipped to handle storing and transferring professional-grade photos and 4K UHD video recording and playback. It can record up to three hours and 50minutes of 4K UHD video or 16 hours and 20 minutes of Full HD video in action cameras without the need to change or replace the memory card. In addition, the PRO Plus 128GB microSD can store a maximum of 10,940 photos or 30,670 MP3 songs based on Samsung’s estimated user settings and configurations.

The PRO Plus 128GB microSD card is designed to be compatible with any device that has a microSD slot, and is equipped with the recently upgraded Samsung 4-proof features, which include waterproof (IEC 60529, IPX7), temperature proof, X-ray proof, and magnetic proof protection. It comes with a 10 year limited warranty and is guaranteed to survive operating temperatures from -25°C to 85°C (-13°F to 185°F) and non operating temperatures from -40°C to 85°C (-40°F to 185°F). Data stored on the card will not be affected by X-rays and will resist up to 15,000 gauss magnetic force—the equivalent of a high-field MRI scanner.

Samsung will now offer the new PRO Plus 128GB microSD memory card in more than 50 countries including China, Europe, Korea, U.S., and other regions. For more information on Samsung’s memory card offerings and testing conditions please visit www.samsung.com/memorycard.