SK hynix Launches Mobile NAND Solution ZUFS 4.1

On September 11, SK hynix announced it has officially started delivering its globally first mass-produced mobile NAND flash solution, ZUFS 4.1.

“The adoption of this solution in the latest smartphones highlights SK hynix's technological leadership worldwide,” the company said. “ZUFS 4.1 enhances on-device AI performance, giving users a faster and more intelligent smartphone experience.”

After completing customer validation in June, SK hynix moved ZUFS 4.1 into mass production in July and began delivering it to clients.

ZUFS, or *Zoned UFS, is an extended specification of *UFS that applies Zoned Storage technology, which stores data in different zones based on its usage and characteristics.

* Zoned UFS (ZUFS): First introduced by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) in 2023 as an extended specification of UFS. Development of ZUFS 4.1, based on the JEDEC UFS 4.1 standard, was completed in 2025.

* Universal Flash Storage (UFS): A high-speed flash memory storage specification for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Since the launch of UFS 1.0 in 2011, the specification has evolved through versions 2.0 (2013), 2.1 (2016), 3.0 (2018), 3.1 (2020), 4.0 (2022), and 4.1 (2025), with each version significantly improving data transfer speed and power efficiency.

Integrated into smartphones, ZUFS 4.1 boosts operating system speed and optimizes data management. It can improve long-term read performance by over four times and reduce app launch times by 45% compared with traditional UFS. Unlike conventional UFS, which overwrites old data with new, ZUFS 4.1 uses sequential writing, cutting AI application run times by 47%. These advantages make it a solution specifically optimized for mobile AI and large-scale data processing.

Compared with the 4.0 version developed last May, ZUFS 4.1 offers stronger error handling. It detects issues more precisely and communicates required corrective actions to the CPU, enhancing system reliability and recovery capabilities.

SK hynix AI Infrastructure CMO Jin Joo-sun noted, “ZUFS 4.1, developed through close collaboration and now in mass production, is designed to optimize Android OS and mobile storage performance. Its applications are expected to grow further.” He added, “We will continue to provide NAND solutions that meet evolving needs while building stronger collaborations worldwide to reinforce our leadership in AI memory technology.”