SK Hynix started distributing its latest high-performance mobile NAND product to smartphone customers, claiming to be the first to mass produce the zoned universal flash storage (ZUFS) unit optimised for on-device AI and large-scale data processing.

In a statement, the chipmaker explained the ZUFS 4.1 “significantly improves sustained performance compared with conventional UFS” by reducing read performance degradation over extended use by more than four times, enabling a 45 per cent reduction in app launch times.

Justin Kim, head of AI infra at SK Hynix, said the ZUFS 4.1 was the first developed and mass-produced through collaboration aimed at optimising Android OS and storage devices. Looking ahead, its applications are expected to expand.

The company completed the qualification process with its customers in June.

Using zoned storage technology, which stores data in different zones based on its usage and characteristics, the company said it boosted operation speed of the OS and improved data management efficiency.

SK Hynix noted it also enhanced the error-handling capabilities of the ZUFS 4.1 compared with version 4.0 developed in May 2024.